Darwen: where would another charging site add value?

Darwen has 4 public charging sites listed on Open Charge Map in the supplied built-up-area snapshot [S3]. That limited listing warrants a closer look at access and parking duration, rather than an assumption of unmet paid demand. A pub or other destination host should compare low-use income with its capital cost before choosing a funding model. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 17 October 2026

Where is the gap in Darwen’s listed charging provision?

Darwen’s supplied snapshot has 27,897 residents and 4 public charging sites listed on Open Charge Map, including 2 rapid sites. That is 1.4 listed sites per 10,000 residents. [S1] [S2] [S3] A business can investigate longer stays, evening access or a more convenient location before proposing another rapid installation.

The listed sites contain 10 devices, equivalent to 3.6 per 10,000 residents. Rates use count ÷ 27,897 × 10,000, rounded within the ONS built-up boundary. [S1] [S2] [S3] Open Charge Map is community-maintained and lists fewer points than DfT’s council count. A small community listing is not proof that all other provision is absent.

Begin with a local charging review. Visit alternatives rather than counting map symbols alone. Record public access, opening times and whether a driver has somewhere useful to spend the charging period.

What do A666 traffic and Darwen visitors tell you?

The A666 is the busiest counted major road in the supplied town extract, at 22,253 vehicles per day in 2025. [S4] This is a road-location average, not the number entering your business. Assess the turn into your car park, safe circulation and how visible your entrance is from the direction customers approach.

Darwen Town Council identifies the town’s market and leisure centre, alongside Darwen Tower on the moors. [S11] The visitor page locates Market Square on Croft Street and identifies nearby market parking and Knott Street long-stay parking. [S12] These give you concrete alternatives to compare with a pub or café car park.

A walking visitor may leave a vehicle longer than a market shopper. Test both groups instead of building a forecast around occasional events. Keep delivery routes and ordinary parking demand in your survey.

Who benefits from a pub charging bay, and what could it earn?

For a hypothetical Darwen pub with its own parking, destination charging may fit a meal or a longer visit. This is an illustration, not a quote. A kilowatt (kW) is power; a kilowatt-hour (kWh) is energy. All operating values below are assumptions.

The workplace band is a starting benchmark for this small AC example, not a surveyed pub specification. Groundworks, cable runs and connection are extra; replace the allowance with an itemised scope. [S7]

Annual energy = sessions × 365 × 12; receipts = energy × £0.55; net = energy × £0.30 − £240. Fully funded host income = receipts × 10%; part funded net = net × 50%. Simple return on investment (ROI) = host net ÷ host capital × 100; payback years = capital ÷ positive host net.

The figures exclude VAT adjustments, tax, financing, payment fees, charging losses, business rates, insurance and replacement. Add these to the income model before comparing contracts. The matching part funded and self funded percentages result from the assumed equal division of capital and net income.

Which grants and permissions apply to your Darwen site?

Workplace Charging Scheme support can cover up to 75% of eligible cost, capped at £500 per socket and 40 sockets per applicant, until 31 March 2027. [S8] Do not treat customer-only pub bays as eligible workplace parking. The example deducts no grant. HMRC describes a 100% first-year allowance on qualifying chargepoint expenditure; check with your accountant. [S9]

Obtain a site-specific assessment from the distribution network operator (DNO), responsible for local electricity cables. Have your solicitor check planning, landlord consent, lease duration, liability, removal and business rates allocation. Publicly accessible charging needs its own regulatory assessment. [S10] Keep accessible walking routes clear when marking bays, and document who handles faults and parking disputes.

How does Darwen compare with the wider borough?

Blackburn with Darwen had 129 public chargers, including 45 rapid chargers, on 1 July 2026. [S5] Darwen accounts for approximately 17% of the population in the supplied geography calculation. [S1] [S2] That share cannot turn a community site count into a town allocation of the official device total.

Use the borough charging overview and North West region page to understand the wider catchment.

Next steps

Prepare evidence of customer stays, your parking plan and a supply bill, then get matched with an installer that covers your area.

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