North Yorkshire is set to receive 140 new chargepoints for electric vehicles under a scheme announced today by the Department for Transport.
The county’s seven districts, including Harrogate, will each get 20 chargers.
The chargepoints will installed at on-street locations and at larger petrol-station charging hubs.
It is hoped the move will give drivers without home chargers more confidence to switch to electric, and reduce ‘range anxiety’ among existing electric vehicle users by helping to ensure motorists are never far from a chargepoint.
North Yorkshire County Council was awarded the funding today.
The council previously suggested that Markington, Pateley Bridge and Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough could receive new chargepoints in the Harrogate district. But it has yet to confirm the locations after today’s news.
Councillor Greg White, the council’s executive member for climate change, welcomed the funding. He said:
“The switch to electric vehicles is necessary as North Yorkshire moves towards becoming carbon zero, but the rural nature of the county presents some significant challenges.
“We worked hard to come up with an innovate scheme which will begin to provide the answers motorists need if they are to have the confidence to go electric.”
The chargers are part of the new Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme where the council and industry work in partnership.
Companies are putting £200,000 towards the scheme.
The council will install more electric chargers (photo: Andrew Roberts/Unsplash)
Harrogate currently has six public charging points – though the type and number of charging points varies between each station.
Knaresborough currently has two charging points whilst Ripon has four.
National plans
North Yorkshire is one of the first nine areas to receive funding.
A total of £20 million has been allocated for the pilot scheme nationally.
The government plans to eventually invest £450 million into the scheme nationwide.
It intends to grow the network of charging points around the country with more than 1,000 new charging stations set to be installed.
Decarbonisation minister Trudy Harrison said:
APS partners with Harrogate College on electric car charging course“We want to expand and grow our world-leading network of EV chargepoints, working closely with industry and local government, making it even easier for those without driveways to charge their electric vehicles and support the switch to cleaner travel.”
APS, which runs a national electric vehicle charger repair and maintenance service in Harrogate, has partnered with Harrogate College to set up a training and recruitment programme.
Harrogate College will be introducing the new course to help the borough transition to electric cars.
Principal Danny Wild of Harrogate College said:
“We are determined to support emerging green technologies and have been working closely with local firms so we can provide the appropriately skilled, work-ready students they need.
“The electric vehicle sector is a rapidly growing one that represents a fantastic opportunity for both our students and local businesses.”
Despite having more electric vehicles than any other district in North Yorkshire, the Stray Ferret recently reported how Harrogate is one of the ‘worst prepared areas in the UK’ for transitioning to electric vehicles.
It was estimated that the borough had just one charging point for every 134 electric or hybrid cars.
However, APS Business Development Manager, John Dyson, defended the situation.
He said:
“It is ironic that Harrogate has been criticised so strongly for a lack of action over installing electric vehicle chargers when there actually is so much going on behind the scenes.
“Recent announcements by Transdev, that all Harrogate buses are to be electrified, and Harrogate Borough Council, which is to install 34 charge points in local car parks, gives a taste of just what is on its way.”
The level 3 award in the Installation and Commissioning of Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment will start in September at Harrogate College.
Linley & Simpson fundraise for children’s hospice
In training (from left) Callum Collbeck, Pawel Ziemak, Freddie Purdy, Adam Hughes and Josh Boocock
Linley & Simpson will start a year of fund-raising challenges in support of Martin’s House Children’s Hospice.
The estate agent, which has branches in Ripon and Wetherby, is marking its 25th anniversary by aiming to raise £25,000 for Martin House, based at Boston Spa.
The team has previously managed to raise £100,000 in support of the charity.
As part of the fundraise, they will abseil 50ft down the Cow and Calf rocks at Ilkley Moor. The following week, 40 colleagues will also face a 12k course of mud, ice and obstacles.
Emily Wilkinson, Wetherby Branch Manager at Linley & Simpson, said:
“The work of Martin House has touched the lives of our people in many ways, and we are pleased to be able to ‘give back’ through this initial set of events as well as a host of others that are in the pipeline.”
The challenge begins on June 16, with more information available on the website.
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Harrogate garage invests £40k in electric car servicing to undercut main dealers
This article is sponsored by GT Service.
GT Service Centre has invested £40,000 to make its garage the best in Harrogate for electric car servicing. GT Service guarantees to beat any quote from a main dealer by 50%.
The garage has all of the same mechanical and technical systems as the main dealers of electric vehicles. With special antistatic flooring, ramps, tools and diagnostic machines, the team can fix and service any brand of electric car – including BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Jaguar Landrover.
Because it’s a local independent company, it’s able to keep its overheads lower than car dealership workshops.
Owner Tom Askey explains why many people wrongly believe they need to go to their car manufacturer’s garage:
“Lots of the main dealers use scare tactics to get you to go to them, but under European Commission rules your warranty is protected with us because we use all of the same parts, oils and equipment.”
Tom is also one of the first fully qualified level 4 diagnostic technicians in Harrogate. RAC, AA and car brand technicians are typically only trained to level 3 – so with GT Service, you’re getting degree-level expertise.
Working on electric vehicles can be dangerous. Work should be done by a qualified electric vehicle technician. Even work on tyres, breaks and suspension should be done by a specialist, because of high voltages.
Tom says:
“Knowing how to safely disable the electric system and get into the inner workings of the motor, cables and internal batteries is crucial if something isn’t working correctly. But because the cables run throughout the bottom of the car, if you don’t know what you’re doing, something usually basic like a tyre change becomes a specialist job.”
GT Service aims to be ahead of the game and offer drivers a competitive service as the motoring world is revolutionised and we all swap to electric vehicles over the coming decades.