Councils and public sector organisations across the region are taking major steps to switch to greener vehicles.
Nottingham City Council is leading a programme installing charge points across the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (D2N2). Funding comes from the Department for Transport as part of the Future Transport Zones programme which is designed to future proof organisational travel needs and trial new technologies.
Part of this funding is supporting the creation of a public sector charging network, to encourage public sector bodies to include more electric vehicles in their fleet.
Local authorities and other public sector organisations – such as emergency services – can use this funding to have charge points installed on their premises. At present there are 31 members in the network and 17 sites have had charge points installed, including Edwinstowe Fire Station, Wollaton Communities Courtyard, and Newark & Sherwood District Council Brunel Depot.
This follows on from the Go Ultra Low project (completed 2019) which saw Nottingham City Council install over 300 charge points for public use across the region and switch over 50% of the council’s own fleet to electric vehicles – including the world first purpose built electric bin lorry.
Cllr Neghat Khan, Nottingham City Council Leader and Executive Member for Transport, said: “It’s great that we’re able to use funding from the Future Transport Zones programme to support this work, as well as trialling new technologies to future-proof our transport network.
“Making charging more accessible is key to supporting people and organisations to make the switch to electric vehicles. This project will help local authorities and other public sector organisations lead by example and turn their own fleets green, helping improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.”
