Fastest charge! Morrisons to expand largest network of ultra fast electric car charging points

MORRISONS is expanding the UK's largest supermarket network of:- 'next generation' rapid electric charging points for electric vehicles, allowing customers to charge the majority of cars from flat to full battery in under 45 minutes.

Over the next 12 months Morrisons will add an additional 100 rapid chargers to its network. Having recently installed its 200th GeniePoint rapid charge point, Morrisons has also saved 2,000 tonnes of carbon along the way. The network now provides full coverage in both England and Wales, spanning from Redruth in the tip of Cornwall to Amble in the North East of England. A roll out in Scotland will begin this month.

Morrisons 'next generation' rapid chargers can charge an electric car up to 6 times quicker than standard charging points used by other supermarkets. They will enable customers to charge their car up even during a short shopping trip or a quick visit to a Morrisons Cafe. A typical 30 to 40 minute charge will give drivers up to 100 miles of travel range. Over the course of the summer, Morrisons is expecting to serve over ˝ a million kilowatt hours of green energy, as more families travel during their summer holidays in the UK.

Morrisons partnership with EQUANS means that customers will never be more than 50 miles from a rapid charger. The GeniePoint charging points have been located around the perimeter of Morrisons car parks to ensure they are available to those who need them and not obstructed by other customers.

Andrew Ball, Fuel and Services Manager of Morrisons, said:- "We know customers don't want to spend hours waiting for their cars to charge, which is why we've made the decision to install the next generation of rapid chargers. It's important that we continue to offer our customers the convenience of charging their EVs as they shop or eat with us. This summer, whether they're hitting the coast or visiting the beautiful countryside, customers can take comfort in knowing they are always close to one of our charging points."

All of the electricity used for charging will come from zero carbon energy sources like wind and solar.

Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that there are more than 450,000 EVs on UK roads, of which approximately 50% are battery operated vehicles. Demand for reliable, rapid electric vehicle charging facilities is growing and drivers want to see chargers situated at convenient locations where their vehicles can be charged whilst they carry on with their day to day activities.

Morrisons customers can register to use the GeniePoint chargers via the web app:- GeniePoint.Co.UK, which is free to join. There is no monthly fee and drivers only pay for the electricity they use which costs 35p to 39p per kW hour. Customers can also pay for a charge via the GeniePoint App, available from the App Store or Google Play, or by RFID card.

Steve Rotheram announces ₤1.5 million boost for tourism

A new ₤1.5m fund has been launched to lure UK tourists back to the Liverpool City Region. At its meeting on 23 July 2021, the Combined Authority approved the package, which will target staycationers from London, the South East, the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland with marketing and advertising. It will also support the drive to increase international visitors when restrictions are fully lifted. The fund will also be used to improve the City Region's tourism websites. It will enable Growth Platform to create a ₤3.2m, 3 year programme, to rebuild the visitor economy, with the majority of the money set to come from the private sector.

Announcing the funding, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "In recent years our City Region has become an international destination of choice, attracting visitors from all over the world to soak up our:- culture, music, sport, hospitality and much, much more. Over the last year and a ˝ we've helped more than 4,500 local businesses with over ₤45m worth of funding to keep them afloat during the Pandemic. With restrictions on international travel likely to continue this year, we want as many people as possible to choose our Region for a staycation this year. As things get back to normal, people will be able to enjoy all of the things that make the Liverpool City Region so vibrant; with fewer international tourists, you might even beat the queues!"

Lockdown restrictions have had a significant impact on the City Region's visitor economy. Normally worth ₤4.9billion a year and supporting 59,000 jobs, the sector brought in just ₤2.1bn in 2020. Visit Britain forecasts that visitor spend nationwide in 2021 will be only 23% of 2019 levels and visitor numbers only 29%. The project is based on marketing plans for Liverpool, Wirral and Southport as the main destination brands for the Liverpool City Region, using an:- "attract and disperse" principle, focused on the pulling power of Liverpool coupled with the area's wider tourism assets including its coast and countryside, to spread the benefits across all parts of the City Region.

The fund will pay for marketing efforts to attract tourists to visit Liverpool in areas including London and the South East, the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all of whom are within a 2 to 3 hour travel time. Specific marketing for Wirral and Southport will focus on markets within a 90 minute travel time. It will also pay for improvements to the City Region's destination websites through investment in a new integrated operating platform and systems to better support online marketing activity, customer management and user tracking. It will also create a better experience for visitors to the websites, enhancing booking capability and itinerary planning.

The main priorities of the Destination Marketing project are to:-

► Bring tourists back to the City Region, rebuilding confidence amongst existing markets when they are ready to come back and ensuring that the City Region remains competitive.

► Develop new visitor markets that have emerged as a result of the Pandemic.

► Attract markets that can come mid week to increase demand out of core season.

► Help all businesses in the hospitality, retail, attraction and cultural sectors to resume successful trading.

► Establish a new sustainable funding model to support future marketing campaigns beyond the next 2 years.

► Support the emerging destinations which have been (or are in the process of being) transformed through the regeneration schemes around the City Region.

► Activity related to the programme is due to start in Autumn this year, with a full programme of activities planned for 2022.