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Get ready, Gateshead
We’re delighted to announce that Gateshead Metropolitan District Council has approved planning permissions for a GRIDSERVE Electric Forecourt® on the A184 Park Road. Beltas. The new facility will provide state-of-the-art EV charging infrastructure for the people of Gateshead, Newcastle and beyond, powered exclusively by net zero carbon energy. Construction is expected to start later in 2024.
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The ultimate EV charging experience
The Gateshead Electric Forecourt® has been designed to help support the anticipated growth in electric vehicles in the north east by providing a multitude of EV chargers within a facility that also features inspiring areas to work, meet, rest and shop. Our industry-leading EV chargers are accessible to all drivers, accept contactless payment and are able to provide 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes.
The proposed site
The Gateshead Electric Forecourt® will be built on the site of a former filling station located on the A184 dual carriageway, between Stadium Road and Neilson Road. Not only is the site within easy access of Gateshead town centre and the A167 that connects Newcastle city centre, but the A19 and A194 also lead to other key destinations including Sunderland and South Shields.
This landmark project will cover just 0.89 acres (0.36 ha) of brownfield site. It utilises GRIDSERVE’s space-efficient compact Electric Forecourt® design, which houses a full retail facility directly above the main EV charging area.
We want to hear from you
While our virtual consultation has now ended, we encourage and welcome feedback from all members of the local community, not just EV drivers. Please get in touch with our team.
All corners of the UK should benefit from the EV revolution
The vehicles on Britain’s roads are changing. Nearly one in six new car registrations were fully-electric vehicles (EVs) in 2022 and the transition from internal combustion engine to electric motor is continuing to gather pace. Now, with the introduction of the Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone, plus the impending arrival of the UK’s best EV charging facility, there has never been a better time for the people of Gateshead and beyond to make the switch.
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Your feedback matters
Asking for your feedback isn’t some performative tick box exercise. Every Electric Forecourt® that GRIDSERVE develops is designed to meet the specific needs of the local community, so it’s important that these spaces continue to have a local flavour.
How every Electric Forecourt® is developed
Using proprietary geodata, we identify areas of the UK that are most in need of EV charging infrastructure and put together a proposal for the local community to consider.
We collate all community feedback, making changes that add value, while monitoring any impacts on traffic, noise and ecology. This plan is then submitted to the local council for consideration.
With planning permission approved, we can begin construction, building both sustainably and quickly while always trying to mitigate any disruption to the local area.
With our EV chargers installed, local staff recruited and retail partners open for business, the filling station of the future is ready to serve, providing affordable sustainable energy.
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Key consideration criteria
A phase one ecology report has been conducted and considered the site of low ecological value, with no habitats of principal importance. The planting proposed for the Gateshead Electric Forecourt® is low maintenance, with low growing shrub planting providing all year interest, colour and structure while improving biodiversity and habitat creation.
The site is situated in ‘Flood Zone 1’ which is an area of land with the least probability of flooding. A robust drainage strategy has been developed to mitigate storm surge forecasts, and because the site has been unoccupied for several years, greenfield run-off rates have been utilised for drainage modelling purposes.
A transport assessment formed part of the planning application, assessing the impact of development-related trips and increased traffic on the A184 Park Road. It concluded the Electric Forecourt® will not be a significant trip generator in itself, but will be used predominantly by electric vehicles already in the surrounding area. The development’s location also provides opportunity for journeys to be made using other sustainable transport modes.
Frequently asked questions
GRIDSERVE is delighted that planning consent has been granted for the above site. Gaining planning is just one stage of the development process. The site and layout for the development will now be subject to a detailed design stage to finalise the layout for construction.
If you didn’t get a chance to register on the form, you can speak with our customer support team at any time, our metaphorical door is always open so feel free to email us at connect@gridserve.com with the subject line Gateshead.
The main entrance for vehicles will be from the eastbound carriageway of the A184 Park Road, where a feeder lane drops into both Stadium Road and the site entrance on the south west corner of the site. The dual-carriageway has a 40mph speed limit and is already well illuminated. The exit for the development will be to the south east where vehicles feed back onto Park Road. An additional new entrance and exit to the north west of the site from Stadium Road is also proposed, linking the development into the industrial park.
While the Gateshead Electric Forecourt® is predominantly going to be used by customers wishing to charge their electric car, bike or van, the site is accessible on foot, by bicycle and by public transport. A high-level pedestrian bridge will link the site to residential housing south of the A184. On each side of this footbridge are bus stops while to the south of the site, Gateshead Stadium Tyne and Wear Metro stop is a short walk away. We hope this gives lots of options for both visitors and staff to travel sustainably to the site.
It’s a little too early to discuss specific partners, but there will be more than 700 sq metres of interior space to play with, so we want the range of facilities to reflect how drivers want to use their dwell time. If you’re local to the site, we’d love to hear your thoughts and we’ll endeavour to share more details as the site goes into construction.
On some of our proposed sites, such as Uckfield, you’ll see that we have the ability to install a solar farm next to our Electric Forecourt® facility. Given the densely populated nature of Gateshead and the compact nature of the site itself, this isn’t possible here. So, it means that the Gateshead Electric Forecourt® will be supplied via grid connection, but the power we purchase from the grid will be virtually sleeved from our sustainable energy projects. This means we’re able to exclusively provide certified and guaranteed 100% renewable energy to all customers at the Gateshead Electric Forecourt®, whether they’re charging their car or ordering a coffee.