Kingsway car park in Dalston is the latest recipient of a public chargepoint from community benefit society Charge My Street.
This is the result of a collaboration between Dalston Parish council and the Lancaster based charging enterprise.
A representative from the council said: “Dalston Parish Council have been delighted to work with Charge My Street. They are a very helpful and accommodating community benefit society and have given the Parish Council a lot of advice and information.
“It has not been straightforward with the Covid situation this year and Charge My Street has worked, when possible, to install everything that is required. We now have two electric chargepoints on the Kingsway car park in the middle of Dalston which is really good news in the current time of climate change.
“Anyone is free to use the spaces to charge their vehicle and enjoy the many amenities in the village. These are the first electric vehicle chargepoints in our area and as such are a great asset to our community.”
The chargepoints are funded through a community share offer and funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency so the chargepoint didn’t cost the parish any money at all.
Charge My Street are currently appealing for more parish councils and other organisations to approach them with potentially suitable chargepoint sites.
Director of Charge My Street Daniel Heery said: “Dalston is such a fantastic site for us because it’s a place with a real engaged and collaborative community. The council have been enthusiastic and helpful at every turn.
“As an electric vehicle driver, I know that when I come to charge my car, I appreciate amenities nearby so the supermarket opposite or the nearby takeaways like Crumbs or the Fryery make this a great location to stop-off in.
“I urge any councils who might be considering opening their parish up to EV drivers to get in touch with us. It gives the locals the option of switching to greener transport and visitors a chance to enjoy your village. The EV revolution is well underway and we don’t want Cumbrians to miss out!”
Dalston Parish council had been wishing to install EV chargepoints in the village for a while before they became aware of Charge My Street. Installation talks and council deliberations were stalled by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic but soon resumed once the council’s meetings could be held remotely. The switching on of the chargepoint has been a long time coming and all parties are pleased to have reached this milestone.
As well as parish councils, the chargepoint offer is open to anyone who owns land that could be used to host a chargepoint. Potential sites must have the space for two EVs to charge, they must have open broadband or good data coverage and should be open to access by the public.
Anyone wishing to get in contact with Charge My Street or suggest their site as a potential chargepoint host site can do so on their website.
