North Ayrshire Council has been awarded £250,000 of SNP Government funding through Transport Scotland’s Local Authority Installation Programme.
The Local Authority Installation Programme further develops the ChargePlace Scotland network so that Electric Vehicle (EV) drivers can confidently travel across urban and rural locations.
The latest phase of the Local Authority Installation Programme sees 31 local authorities receive £8.5 million in funding for EV infrastructure, delivering approximately 300 charge points. The programme aims to fill gaps in existing infrastructure provision in order to promote range confidence for electric vehicle drivers across Scotland.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson MSP said:
“Supporting the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles is integral to Scotland’s sustainable economic growth. Electric vehicles are a key component of our Climate Change Plan and our goal of making Scotland’s air quality the best in Europe. That is why we have set our ambitious target to phase out the need to purchase new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032.
“Electric vehicles can bring profound benefits and by announcing over £20 million to support new electric vehicle infrastructure, further reinforcing what is already one of the most comprehensive charging networks in Europe, demonstrates the strength of our continued commitment to this agenda.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“In its Programme for Government 2018/19, the SNP Government committed to rolling out the electrification of Scotland’s roads, adding 1,500 new charge points in homes, businesses and communities including 150 new public charge points; £20 million to enable more people and businesses to make the switch to electric vehicles; and the addition more than 500 new ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) to public sector fleets.
“An example of the latter is the use of ULEVs by Transport Scotland on the construction site of the £31.2 million A737 Dalry Bypass, which opened on 30 May.
“Since last October, the SNP Government also invested £1.2 million through the Plugged-in Households scheme to give more people the opportunity to use ultra-low emission vehicles.
“This approach appears to be working. Figures released by the Department of Transport earlier this year, revealed that the number of ULEVs in North Ayrshire had increased from 91 to 128 between October 2017 and October 2018, a 41% rise.
“If North Ayrshire Council makes good use of this £250,000 we can perhaps beat our neighbours in Renfrewshire as the Local Authority with the highest ULEV uptake this year!”
ENDS
