Decision details

In March 2020, the Cabinet Member for Environment approved the commencement of a procurement process to procure a concession contract to plan, install and operate a publicly accessible electric vehicle chargepoint network across West Sussex, and delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, in consultation with the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning, to award the service concession contract to the successful bidder following the procurement exercise.

The Director of Environment and Public Protection, in consultation with the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning, has awarded Liberty Charge, as the single supplier, the concession contract for West Sussex Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Network for seven years to commence on 1 February 2021 with options to extend for a maximum of three years.

13 January 2021 – update

Post contract award, Liberty Charge requested significant changes to the specification and financial make-up of the service which fundamentally differed from the published tender. The published tender cannot be revised once bids have been received without significant risk of challenge from other Electric Vehicle chargepoint suppliers.

The County Council regretfully decided the only option was to abandon the procurement.

The establishment of a widely accessible county-wide charging network remains a priority for West Sussex County Council and the other partner local authorities. Officers will now take some time to review and consider the next steps to achieve this.

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