John N Dunn provides spark for Durham cricketers

Cricketers are being superpowered in their charge for honours following the installation of new electric car charging infrastructure at their home ground.

Durham Cricket commissioned John N Dunn Group to install dual 22Kw Rolec Quantum EV Charge points opposite the entrance to the Riverside Stadium, in Chester-le-Street, as part of its work towards improving the sustainability of every aspect of its operations.

The charging points have proved so popular with Durham’s players and  staff that four of them have already had their own ones installed at their homes by John N Dunn, with more set to follow at the ground.

It is hoped that the charging points will also be available to spectators and other customers in the future as the provision is expanded.

John N Dunn is now investing in diversifying its business to take advantage of growing opportunities within the electric car charging infrastructure sector, as well as around the installation of renewable energy technologies.

The two organisations were brought together by RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, which works as an advisor to both and which designed the financial aspects of the project to take advantage of the incentives that are currently available for this type of scheme.

The John N Dunn team completed all the ground works for the project, including trenches, bases and reinstatement works, while the back-office system of the chargers they specified provides detailed information on usage and user preferences to help ensure the system is being used as efficiently as possible.

The charging points’ installation and the increase in the number of electric cars within its fleet are the latest in a series of sustainability-focused projects that Durham Cricket is undertaking in and around the Riverside ground to reduce both its energy consumption and carbon footprint.

LED lighting has recently been installed in the club’s pavilion, the building management system has been upgraded to maximise the control available over its heating and lighting systems, and efficient new boilers are set to be brought in in the near future.

Ian Dawson, finance director at Durham Cricket, said: “Creating more sustainable stadia is a key part of the County Partnership Agreement that the professional game has with the England & Wales Cricket Board, and we’re taking steps on a range of fronts to ensure we’re doing as much as we can in this area.

“With a growing proportion of our vehicle fleet becoming electric, it made sense to look at putting our own charging infrastructure in place, especially with the financial incentives that are currently available, and the John N Dunn team has done an excellent job in meeting our requirements.

“The electric charging points are already pretty much constantly in use and we’re already looking at putting more infrastructure in place in the coming months.”

Stephen Bilclough, chairman at John N Dunn Group, added: “Working with an iconic brand like Durham Cricket will be a real boost for us as we look to increase our presence in the thriving electric vehicle and renewable energy technology markets.

“The major housebuilders that we already work with are installing electric vehicle charging points in the new homes they’re building as standard, and we already hold the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles accreditation required to carry out this work.

“With more and more individuals and businesses moving to electric vehicles, we can only see demand increasing for these services and we’re now training up more installation teams to ensure we have the resources required to meet the heightened levels of customer demand that we’reexpecting.

“We also have a number of other service developments planned that offer a great deal of growth potential and we’re excited at where they could take us this year and beyond.”

Paul Gainford, director of commercial services at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, said: “Alongside the obvious environmental and logistical benefits, there are significant tax and commercial benefits to be had from installing this sort of infrastructure and we’re getting increasing enquiries about how such projects might best be taken forward.

“It’s great for us to be able to bring two clients together to their mutual benefit and we’re very pleased to see how well this project has worked out for both of them.”