New electric vehicle charge points in Wiltshire

Six new rapid charge points for electric vehicles are to be installed around the county following Wiltshire Council’s successful bid for government funding.

Wiltshire Council received a £225,000 grant from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) which will fund rapid charging points in Salisbury, Warminster, Melksham, Trowbridge, Corsham and Chippenham.

They will be positioned close to major routes for mid-journey top ups, and be near businesses such as coffee shops and newsagents to accommodate drivers during the 20 to 30 minute recharge.

The council has recently installed a twin, fast-charging unit in Bradford on Avon Station Car Park and, in conjunction with First Great Western, will soon be installing twin charging points at Chippenham, Trowbridge and Westbury railway stations. The rapid charge points are part of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund project which will eventually link up to a larger network of charging points across Wiltshire and will feed into the national network.

John Thomson, cabinet member for transport, said: “The council is working hard to reduce its CO2 emissions and its impact on climate change. We are committed to helping people travel in a more sustainable way and are always exploring new ways to reduce transport-related emissions across Wiltshire.”

In addition to the rapid charge points, the council has also been successful in receiving further funding from OLEV to have charging points installed in its office car parks and campuses. Once locations have been decided, staff and visitors to the sites will be able to use their electric vehicles when visiting key places in the region.

There are additional charge points installed at private locations throughout Wiltshire and the rest of the UK. Visit http://openchargemap.org/site/  to find out more.

Information about low emission vehicles including electric vehicles and charging can be found at https://www.gov.uk/office-for-low-emission-vehicles and https://www.goultralow.com/.