Councils in Nottingham, Bristol, Milton Keynes and London will receive funding that is aimed to encourage thousands of people to consider switching to an electric car. In turn, this will support the UK’s green vehicle sector, improve air quality in urban hotspots and help the government meet its emission-cutting targets.
London has been awarded £13m to prioritise ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in several boroughs across the capital. Proposals include the introduction of charging points on over a dozen streets in Hackney; while parking and traffic priority will be given to owners of plug-in vehicles in Harrow’s Low Emission Zone.
Milton Keynes will receive £9m to open a city centre Electric Vehicle Experience Centre, providing consumer advice and short-term vehicles loans. The city also proposes to open up all of its 20,000 parking bays for free to electric vehicles, and will co-brand bus lanes as ‘Low Emission Lanes’, giving plug-in vehicles the same priority at traffic lights as buses.
Bristol will get £7m to offer free residential parking for ULEVs, over 80 rapid and fast chargers across the city, and a scheme encouraging people to lease a plug-in car for up to four weeks.
Nottinghamshire and Derby will use £6m to install 230 charge points and will offer ULEV owners discount parking, as well as access to the cities’ bus lanes. A business support programme will also be set up, letting local companies ‘try before they buy’.
The government has also set aside £5m for low-emissions development projects in Dundee, Oxford, York and the North East region.
