Shropshire’s first publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging points – positioned at Easthorpe Road, Church Stretton, CY6 6BX – are now connected and ready for EV drivers to use.
The two 7kW Fast charging points were recently launched at a sustainability event held at The Midcounties Co-operative Food store in Church Stretton, and can now be located using Zap-Map Live.
The decision to introduce EV charging points in the region came following a local report that found people were less likely to buy electric cars because of the difficulties in recharging the vehicles.
A coalition between Shropshire Council, the Co-operative, Church Stretton Town Council and environmental charity Stretton Climate Care worked together to make the new charging points possible, with a view of encouraging the uptake of EVs in the area as well as attracting tourism to Church Stretton.
The points are located in the Car Park adjacent to the Midcounties Co-operative on Lion Meadow.
The charge points are operated under Chargemaster’s national Polar network but also part of the Plugged-in Midlands regional network.
To access the Fast chargers, EV drivers can use a Plugged-in Midland’s RFID card or use the Polar Instant Smartphone App. The charging points are free-to-use, although parking charges will apply.
Dan Pardesi, Energy Reduction Officer for The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “Protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we trade form part of our social goals. We’re pleased to be able to support the installation of the new EV charging points, as part of our sustainability month, as they will help to boost tourism and encourage people to consider electrically powered vehicles, which produce less harmful emissions.”
Cllr. Michael Braid, Mayor of Church Stretton, also commented: “Church Stretton is a town that is at the forefront of environmental responsibility with charities like Stretton Climate Care spear-heading initiatives like the EV charge point project to promote the themes of sustainability and carbon reduction to the people of the town. “We are proud to be involved in bringing the first publicly accessible electric car charging points to Shropshire and we look forward to welcoming new visitors to Church Stretton because of them.”
Claire Wild, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for transport and highways, said: “The first stage to improving electric cars viability and appeal is to put in place a network to charge them. Our view of motoring and how we use cars evolved with the petrol station providing fuel and this is a great moment in Church Stretton to provide the equivalent service for electric vehicles. Sustainable transport is becoming more and more prevalent and I’m proud we’re enabling Shropshire to keep pace with these changes.”
Shropshire Live, Shropshire Council
