East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) is consulting with electric vehicle drivers as it powers ahead with ambitious plans to turn the authority into one of the greenest councils in Britain.
The council’s latest plans to provide a network of electric vehicle charging points across the district is designed to encourage residents and businesses to choose environmentally-friendly technology in their daily transport decisions.
Cllr Adam Carew, EHDC Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “EHDC intends to be a lead council in terms of energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly technology.
“We want to make it easy for residents and businesses to make greener choices. Around 40 per cent of Britain’s carbon emissions are related to transport. Fossil fuels like oil and petrol are gradually running out and cannot be replaced, they are also major polluters and key contributors to greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
“One way we can cut down on fossil fuels is to make it easier for those who want to switch to clean, green electric vehicles. The biggest barrier to people buying or using these, however, is the lack of charging places in their communities. By providing a network of rapid electric charging points across East Hampshire in shopping areas, parks, leisure centres, office buildings, car parks and community centres we can encourage more people to use these super low emission electric vehicles.
“To do this we need your help, we need you to tell us where the best places would be to provide these charging points. Our aim is to work with companies that are already installing these to provide as big a network across East Hants as possible.
“The average range for electric vehicles is about 100 miles and charging points are becoming more commonplace across the UK. By setting up this network we can encourage more people to go green, whether it’s office fleets, taxis, private cars or even minibuses.
“Furthermore this council will not charge electric vehicles for parking when they are charging in EHDC car parks. EHDC is keen to lead by example, we already own an electric green machine vehicle for litter picking in Whitehill and we will be looking at ways we can replace our existing fleet vehicles with electric vehicles in the years ahead.
“If you have an electric vehicle or are thinking if getting one we want to hear from you.”
If you drive an electric vehicle get in touch with EHDC’s Energy Strategy Manager Jane Devlin by email jane.devlin@easthants.gov.uk.
The charge point network is part of a wider energy strategy which sets out how energy standards can be improved among businesses and homes across East Hampshire.
Find out what else is in the strategy at www.easthants.gov.uk/energystrategy.
