A village hall has become the first place in south Copeland to install two community-funded electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints.
The sockets are the first publicly accessible chargepoints to be activated in south Copeland and the installation at Thwaites Village Hall marks a huge step forward for residents who may have been considering the switch to an EV.
Thwaites Village Hall believe that the new infrastructure will help build confidence for drivers, who can now visit the area in the knowledge a charging point is easily accessible.
Chairman of Thwaites Village Hall David Savage said: “The chargepoints are installed by community benefit society Charge My Street.
“This is part of an ongoing project to install EV chargepoints throughout Cumbria funded through a community share offer as well as funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. We have welcomed this opportunity to be part of a growing and reliable infrastructure for electric vehicles.
“Because the chargepoints are funded through these means, the installation did not cost the village hall any money at all”.
Director of Charge My Street Daniel Heery said: “It’s been fantastic to work with Thwaites Village Hall for this installation. They have shown a real desire to do something for their community and that’s been obvious throughout.
“So many of the large charging companies have been focused on installing chargepoints at motorway service stations on in big cities. This completely neglects those of us who live in villages or in terraced housing who just want somewhere to park an EV to charge overnight.
“The more chargepoints like these we get installed in communities like this, the more people will be able to switch to an EV from their petrol/diesel car, cutting carbon emissions and saving themselves money.”
