Brighton & Hove's public chargers changed operators on Oct. 15, when the council's contract with Blink Charging UK ended.
Who runs what
- The council says Believ operates the existing Standard Plus and Rapid chargepoints that Blink used to manage.
- Blink's lamp-column chargers are being decommissioned and replaced with new Char.gy chargepoints.
- Drivers use the Believ and Char.gy apps or compatible third-party apps.
The upgrade
electrive reports that the takeover covers more than 110 chargers at 30 locations, including Elm Grove, London Road Car Park and King Alfred Car Park. Believ is keeping the 7–22 kW Standard Plus units and their cabling and replacing the 50 kW-plus rapids. It expects the new equipment to be in place by the end of November 2026. Believ says 54% of residents do not have off-street parking.
That is separate from a larger contract under which Believ is installing a further 210 rapid and ultra-rapid charging points in the city by the end of 2028, electrive adds.
Why it matters
When councils hand over networks like this, the hardware actually gets replaced. That matters most to drivers who can't charge at home, the same group the UK government is now targeting with £100 million to cut local charging costs.
