Jockey Club Venues announces installation of EV charge points

Jockey Club Venues has joined forces with Chargemaster Plc., provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charge points at all 14 of the portfolio’s racecourses.

The first EV charge point operation began at Kempton park Racecourse on 30 May, with subsequent installations at Sandown Park and Epsom Downs to complete Jockey Club Venue’s three London racecourses. This will be closely followed by Newmarket, Exeter and Wincanton Racecourses.

The move is part of Jockey Club Venues’ sustainability strategy highlighting initiatives to improve the ease with which conference and events clients can reduce their carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. The points will enable users to fully charge an EV for just 95p, allowing travel of up to 109 miles dependent on the vehicle.

"These EV charge points will further widen the Jockey Club Venues’ appeal to those planners who denote sustainability as a criterion for their events. We hope that corporates will switch on to the significant cost savings that can be achieved through electric vehicle travel," says Jockey Club Venues’ Group Director of Operations, John Baker.

The partnership is part of the POLAR initiative committed to building a network of 4,000 charge points across Britain by the end of 2012 to sustain expected growth in Evs.

"We have seen a dramatic increase in the installation of EV charge points in the last 12 months, but this is the first time a racecourse has undergone this process," says Chief Executive of Chargemaster, David Martell. "In the next 18 months, it is predicted that 29 new models of plug-in cars will be launched to the UK market, and Jockey Club Venues will be prepared for the time when EV charge points are a necessity for all venues."