Charging points to spark interest in electric cars across the High Peak

High Peak Borough Council has pledged to improve air quality, protecting the environment and providing car parking which meets the needs of residents.

The council has teamed up with Derbyshire County Council and Nottingham City to install the charge points in car parks at South Street in Buxton, Miry Meadow in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Municipal Buildings in Glossop and Hope car park.

A fifth point will be installed at Station Road in Hadfield under a separate scheme funded by Highways England. This location has been chosen as it is close to the A628 Woodhead Road – a main route between Manchester and Sheffield.

Deputy council leader and executive councillor for regeneration, tourism and leisure, Damien Greenhalgh, said: “This is electrifying news for the High Peak. The lack of charging points across the borough currently is a barrier to residents and businesses buying and using plug-in electric vehicles. In securing this £160,000 infrastructure investment and locating these charging points in public places for everyone to use, we hope to encourage more people to consider switching to less polluting vehicles.

“Vehicle emissions are the main source of air pollution in the High Peak and air pollution can impact on our health so the benefits of reducing emissions from vehicles are potentially wide-ranging.

“We have declared a climate emergency and are mindful of the impact on the environment of all the decisions we take. This scheme is a great start as it will contribute to improving air quality and help our tourism and regeneration aims by placing the Borough firmly on the EV map. And it doesn’t stop here – we’re already working on the next phase to bring more charge points to more areas of High Peak in the near future.”

The charge points planned for car parks are being delivered under the Go Ultra Low programme with installation costs covered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and D2N2.

Classed as ‘rapid’ chargers, the will charge the majority of electric vehicles to 80% in around 30 to 60 minutes and can charge two vehicles at the same time.