A new electric car charging point trial has begun in Gwynedd, with five new points installed at tourism related businesses in Meirionnydd.
The usage of the Welsh points will be monitored over the next 12 months, to see the impact they make for electric car drivers to the area.
Meirionnydd was chosen as the pilot area because of its rural nature and lack of existing EV charging points. Research indicated that only three active charging points were installed in Meirionnydd in early 2016.
Businesses that wanted to be involved were invited to apply to have the point installed at their premises, with the trial promoted through a number of social and business networks, along with the local tourist board and council. At the closing date earlier this year, 30 firms had requested information, with ten full applications submitted.
These were then assessed against criteria looking at parameters such as location, accessibility, and visitor numbers, before the final decision was made.
The pilot sites have been announced as:
• Corris Caverns, Corris
• Fferm Hendy (Hendy Farm Holidays), Tywyn
• Byrdir Self Catering, Dyffryn Ardudwy
• Bythynnod Gelli Goch, Trawsfynydd
• Railway Cottage, Y Bala
Dusty Rhodes from the Railway Cottage in Bala said: “We very much appreciate the opportunity this extra facility should provide in expanding the scope of new visitors to the area.”
Funding for the project has come from the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, along with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Gwynedd Council.
Find the points on Zap-Map by searching for the businesses listed above, and you can keep up to date with developments on the project’s Twitter feed.
