Eleven new electric vehicle chargepoints are now available in Carlisle after a council drive.
The chargepoints are the result of a partnership between Carlisle City Council and local community benefit society Charge My Street, who are partners in an innovative project funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles to install electric vehicle chargepoints in community settings.
Sales of EVs in Europe more than doubled in 2020 despite the general slump in overall car sales during the coronavirus pandemic. This is in part due to the government’s upcoming ban on sales of all new petrol/diesel cars in 2030, but also because of the increasing choice that car owners are making towards switching to electric vehicles.
The vast majority of EV drivers charge their car overnight and this is a problem for anyone who doesn’t have off-street parking, such as a driveway or garage. This means that drivers who live in terraced housing or flats will need to rely on different solutions and one of these will be the expansion of the network of publicly available chargepoints.
The project has seen the installation of chargepoints at 11 sites within Carlisle city centre and the surrounding area, with a further 11 planned over the coming months. Each chargepoint has the facility to charge two cars simultaneously.
Councillor Nigel Christian, portfolio holder for environment and transport, who officially opened one of the new chargepoints at the council’s Stanwix car park on Wednesday, said: “I’m delighted to see the number of chargepoints increase within Carlisle.
“We want to play our part in protecting the environment and in the worldwide movement which aims to tackle climate change. By installing the chargepoints we are helping eliminate pollution and reducing carbon emissions.
“We have invested in electric vehicles within our own fleet and I encourage other businesses and residents to go electric too.”
The chargepoints can be found in the following locations:
- Union Lane car park, Brampton.
- Paddy’s Market car park, Caldewgate.
- Silloth Street (off Wigton Road).
- Milbourne Street.
- Shadygrove Road car park.
- The Sands Centre car park.
- Westmorland Street.
- Stanwix car park.
- Linton Tweeds at Shaddongate.
- Dalston.
A second site at Brampton in Showfields car park will be operational at the end of June.
Director of Charge My Street, Daniel Heery, said: “It’s fantastic to see the installation of all these chargepoints being realised. It has been a pleasure to work with Carlisle City Council to expand the charging infrastructure across Cumbria over the past year. They have been great partners to work with have been enthusiastic from the start of the project.
“The more public chargepoints there are, the more people who don’t have driveways or other off-street parking will feel confident about the ability to switch to an electric vehicle without the fear they might end up with a dead battery due to the lack of charging facilities. It’s great to see the Council backing the green initiatives and looking towards the future.”
These chargepoints are part of a network of Charge my Street chargepoints throughout other locations in Cumbria and Lancaster. There is still time for anyone who wants to suggest either their own site or a community setting as a potential chargepoint host and to do this visit www.chargemystreet.co.uk/host
