A Welwyn Garden City EV charging location has marked a major expansion with a visit from MP and Secretary of State for Energy, Grant Shapps.

The charging park, located next to Marston’s The Bakehouse pub and the Aldi supermarket, is owned and operated by Osprey Charging.

Mr Shapps met with Osprey CEO and Chair of ChargeUK Ian Johnston at the newly expanded location.

At the hub the Secretary of State discussed with Mr Johnston the capabilities of the eight newly installed 300kW ultra-rapid EV chargers, which adhere to new government regulations that all rapid chargers must accept bank cards.

The new rapid charge points are also compatible with every EV on the market today and can add 100 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes, depending on the model of the vehicle and its battery. 

Grant Shapps said: "I’m delighted to see the expansion of Osprey’s EV charging site, which has proved to be an important asset to Welwyn Hatfield’s EV drivers.

"Fast, reliable and easy-to-use public EV charging locations such as this hub are vitally important to hitting our net-zero targets.

"They help improve confidence in the national infrastructure and practically support the uptake of electric vehicles at the local level too."

Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging, said: "A crucial element of our strategy at Osprey is to understand the requirements of our customers and adapt the network to meet growing customer demand, installing more chargers in locations across Great Britain and upgrading existing locations.

"The Bakehouse is one of our most popular sites to date and the latest in our roll out of 150 high-power hubs, that includes upgrading existing in-demand locations such as this."

Ian added: "Our long-term partnership with Marston’s has been hugely successful in bringing safe, accessible and convenient EV charging to regions across the UK.

"By partnering with businesses like Marston’s, we are able to invest in building charging sites that EV drivers want to return to.

"We are continuously expanding our portfolio through these partnerships, and wherever possible, growing our existing sites to keep up with the speed of EV uptake throughout the UK."