EV charging network Be.EV is investing £4 million to regenerate a neglected area into a new EV charging hub.
The Failsworth petrol station, which has been left abandoned and derelict for 15 years, will be transformed into a new EV forecourt and charging hub. The development, which will be named the Manchester Charging Oasis, will offer 12 ultra-rapid charging bays that can deliver up to 300Kw, which can add as much as 325 miles of range to an EV in the space of just 20 minutes.
Four waiting bays for cars queuing for the chargers, as well as a Caffe Nero Express, will also be included on the site.
Failsworth is in one of the six key growth zones targeted for redevelopment in Greater Manchester’s ten-year industrial strategy. The Manchester Charging Oasis, which will be located on a key commuter route between Manchester and Oldham, aligns with this redevelopment plan, and when complete Be.EV expects the site to serve over 26,000 daily commuters. Greater Manchester is expected to have an EV population of over 150,000 by 2038, making new charging infrastructure increasingly important for the region.
The site has undergone a comprehensive decontamination process, including the removal of the old petrol tanks and restoring the soil to safe conditions. Following this, the site has been officially certified as a green site by Manchester City Council, making it one of the first former petrol stations in the UK to be repurposed for clean energy use.
Asif Ghafoor, CEO of Be.EV, said the company is “putting [their] money where [their] mouth is” with this new redevelopment investment. Ghafoor added that Be.EV is “incredibly proud” to be playing a part in the transformation of the Failsworth area, adding “by breathing new life into this space, we’re not just revitalising the area — we’re paving the way for cleaner, greener streets”.
Be.Ev currently operates a network of over 800 live charging bays across the UK, and is projecting this figure to double by the end of this year. In June last year, the charging network secured a landmark £55 million debt raise from two major banks. This funding injection from NatWest and Germany’s KfW IPEX-Bank is currently being used to expand the firm’s charging network across the UK, with the majority of new chargers set to be rapid or ultra-rapid units.
