THE council has announced plans to increase the number of exclusive parking bays for electric vehicle owners across the city.

Brighton and Hove currently has more than 200 bays assigned only for electric vehicles (EV), with the city council announcing plans to add a further 50 by April next year.

The council said it hopes that the growing number of electric vehicle drivers in the city will be more likely to find a place to charge, as well as less likely that those spaces will be blocked by another non-electric vehicle.

Anyone with a non-electric vehicle parking in one of the exclusive bays could be issued with a penalty charge notice.

Councillor Steve Davis, who co-chairs the environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “We know that blocked bays is a bugbear for people with electric and hybrid vehicles in the city.

“By making more of the parking spaces near charging points EV only, we make it easier for people to charge their cars and remove one of the disincentives that people have when deciding whether or not to go electric.

“It’s all about giving people in the city the infrastructure they need to make sustainable travel choices. The future of vehicle traffic will be electric and we’re continuing to work and ensure the city can meet the growth in EV ownership, reduce petrol and diesel car journeys and improve air quality.

“We also have to ensure we invest in other sustainable travel as electric vehicles themselves won’t solve the climate crisis.”

Another 50 lamppost chargers will be also installed across the city by the end of the month.

More than half a million pure battery-electric vehicles are on UK roads, according to latest figures by the DVLA.

The most popular pure electric vehicle is the Tesla Model 2, with more than 75,000 on roads up and down the country.

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in Britain is set to be banned from 2030.