New hub: Highbridge Retail Park, Waltham Abbey

• Sixteen cars or vans can re-charge at the sixteen new public charge points, which are super-fast – adding up to 100 miles of range in just 15-20 minutes of charge
• The new charge points accept all contactless bank cards, are compatible with every electric vehicle on the market today, and have a 24/7 free helpline for customers
• Osprey Charging, which operates the charging hub, is a nationwide public charging network consistently ranked in the top 3 UK networks for customer experience

Essex residents, businesses and visitors’ EV charging access improved this week with the opening of a hub of eight new EV charge points at Highbridge Retail Park in Essex. The new, super-fast chargers are part of Osprey Charging, a leading UK-wide rapid-charging network.

 They typically add 100 miles of range in just 15-20 minutes, depending on the model of the vehicle and its battery level. Accepting simple contactless payment via card or Apple/Google Pay, with no need to download an app, the 300kW rapid charge points are also compatible with every EV on the market today.

 Highbridge Retail Park was chosen for its excellent location just off the M25 between Essex and London, and for its convenient amenities – drivers can charge up whilst enjoying coffee and a bite to eat at the on-site Costa or McDonald’s.

The charge points are designed to be easy to use and park at, with a 24/7 free helpline assisting customers whenever they need it. For business or fleet drivers, receipts can be obtained via the Osprey App and the chargers accept all major third-party payment methods including fleet cards. Osprey’s in-house software platform, Osprey Iris, enables market-leading levels of reliability and innovation in EV roaming. As a result, Osprey is a multi-award-winning network and a Zap-Map ‘Driver Recommended Network’ for the fifth consecutive year.

The new Essex hub is an important investment in Osprey’s roll-out of public rapid charging infrastructure in strategic locations across the UK. With over 1,300 charging bays available to British drivers, Osprey’s award-winning network is enabling more and more drivers to choose electric. 

As EV uptake increases across the country ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles, more and more of Essex’s visitors will look for EV charging as standard. As such, this new installation will encourage EV uptake in the area, bolstering the UK’s national charging infrastructure as well as improving local air quality, reducing noise pollution and supporting local decarbonisation efforts.

 Osprey funds the installation and oversees the operation and maintenance of the charge points, all of which are powered by renewable energy. Legal & General, the landlord hosting the charging hub, benefits from a future-proofed car park and being able to attract more EV drivers as customers. Osprey currently has two ultra-rapid hubs live and two more in development as part of the Legal & General partnership.