Four electric vehicle chargers installed at West Sussex charity site at no cost
A West Sussex disability charity has had electric vehicle charging points installed at its site at no cost, in a move expected to generate additional income for its work supporting vulnerable adults.
Four charging points have been installed at Aldingbourne Country Centre – in Blackmill Lane, Norton – by Hydra EVC, with the operator covering all infrastructure, installation and maintenance costs.
The centre is run by the Aldingbourne Trust, which supports adults with learning disabilities and autism across West Sussex. The charity has helped more than 2,000 people into paid and voluntary work and welcomes over 80,000 visitors each year, with all income generated on site reinvested into its services.
Under the agreement, the charity will receive a share of the revenue generated by the chargers, creating a new income stream without any upfront investment or ongoing operational responsibility.
The charging points – including one dual-output 40kW unit and one dual-output 22kW unit – are located in the visitor car park and are available to visitors, staff and the wider community.
Steven South, CEO and founder of Hydra EVC, said: “Aldingbourne does extraordinary work on a tight budget, and they shouldn’t have to choose between maintaining services and investing in infrastructure. Our CPO model removes that choice entirely.
"We fund it, we run it, and we make sure the terms work harder for them than they would for a standard commercial site. Getting good EV infrastructure into places like this matters, and we’re proud to be here.”
Hydra EVC said the installation was delivered through its charge point operator division, Hydra CPO, in partnership with MB Electrical EV, with all systems managed remotely via its cloud-based platform.
Alicia Gooderson, Chief Operating Officer at Aldingbourne Country Centre, said: “Our visitors and the people we support need the same facilities you’d expect anywhere else, and EV charging is increasingly part of that.
"What made this partnership work for us is that there was nothing to find in the budget and no ongoing operational involvement is required. The income it generates is a genuine bonus and it all goes straight back into supporting the people we’re here for.”
Chris Davis, commercial and operations manager at Aldingbourne Country Centre, said: “Hydra played a key role in delivering our EV charging installation at Aldingbourne Country Centre, and the experience from start to finish was excellent.
"The team were approachable, supportive, and clearly took pride in their work, delivering a high-quality result that will make a lasting difference to our site.
"We would highly recommend them and look forward to working together again."