​Polestar drivers now have access to the Tesla Supercharger network if they’re signed up to the Swedish carmaker’s Polestar Charge scheme. Compatible plugs will show up in the app and also within the Google Maps setup that Polestar uses for navigation, and drivers can charge on the Supercharger network without needing to use the Tesla app. 

Thurrock council has signed a deal with Zest to provide over 4,000 charge points in the area that will include a mix of slow and fast plugs. The deal is for 15 years and just the latest in a series of announcements from local authorities using money from the government’s local electric vehicle infrastructure fund. 

Charge firm Believ has just completed a set of eight ultra-rapid chargers at a site near the centre of Rotherham that’s recently been redeveloped with a new petrol station, tea room and a Starbucks, with plans for more shops and some offices. The points are just off the Ickles Roundabout, and Believ says that they have been designed to be fully accessible for disabled drivers. 

Believ has also just signed a deal with Hertfordshire county council to install just over 4,000 new plugs including nearly 250 rapid charging points. Believ is investing £36m in the project, with just over £2m coming from the LEVI fund. Company CEO Guy Bartlett said: “Charging access shouldn’t depend on having a driveway. This partnership will bring more than 4,000 chargers to communities within Hertfordshire, making it much easier for residents to plug in locally, charge overnight, or top up quickly when they need to.”

DIY retailer B&Q is teaming up with RAW Charging to get rapid chargers built at 28 of its stores across the UK. The move is part of an £11m investment to support not just electric cars, but also electric vans, which have been slower off the mark in terms of take-up. 

Gridserve has opened up 24 new ultra-rapid chargers at Cobham services on the M25 and 18 of them at Peterborough services on the A1(M). The new hub at Cobham adds to the four rapid plugs that Gridserve already had and the 24 rapid chargers that Ionity is running on the site.

Plus check out some other stories you might have missed, including the UK passing the 120,000 charge points milestone, our guide on installing a pavement gulley for charging your car on the street and the latest additions to the UK government's electric car grant.