Electric vehicle charging points go live next week

A BATTERY of electric vehicle charging points (EVCs) will become available for motorists to use in a town centre next week.

Work has been completed on installing 24 machines, in Hinckley, divided equally between car parks on Hill Street and Lower Bond Street.

The Castle car park (Hill Street) charging points will be up and running from next week, while the Lower Bond Street ECVs will be operational from mid-April.

The £98,000 cost was met with grant funding of £70,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), alongside £28,000 from developer contributions.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council has declared a climate emergency, committing to the area becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Council leader Stuart Bray said: “We are very pleased we have been able to install electric vehicle charging points in Hinckley.

“This is the first step on the council’s path towards a new, greener agenda. In time, we hope this will encourage people to use electric vehicles as a more sustainable way to travel as part of a commitment to doing what we can to reduce greenhouse gases and climate change.

“Demand will only increase for these charge points and we are looking to introduce more on council car parks across the borough, where we know residents will find it difficult to charge at home, and when more funding becomes available.”

Hinckley met the requirement for the funding due to the large areas of residential housing with no off-street parking, a key requirement of OLEV, along with a need for charging points for workers, shoppers and visitors to the town centre.

As part of the government funding, town centre residents living within a short walking distance of the car parks will be eligible for permits to enable them to park free while charging at the points.

The offer aims to make it easier for residents who may not have offstreet parking available at home to charge a vehicle nearby, in a bid to make electric vehicles more appealing.

The council has undertaken further surveys and will be applying for funding to install charging points in rural and other town car parks.

To use the machines, drivers should download the Pod Point app and follow the instructions to make a payment.

The cost is 20p per kwh.