Under the government’s Go Ultra Low Cities government funding scheme Bath & North East Somerset Counci is sharing a £7.5million grant with 3 other local councils (Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset) to encourage uptake of Ultra Low Emission Vehicle use. B&NES will be using their share of the grant to increase the number of electric charging points in B&NES from 20 to 50.
B&NES also plans to use the money to convert at least 25 per cent of its light vehicles to ULEVs. This will result in a significant saving on fuel bills as well as a reduction in the harmful emissions being pumped into the air.
Bath is already one of the most polluted cities in the UK, caused by its topography and congested road network which wasn’t originally designed for cars. Hopefully this investment will encourage car owners to switch to electric vehicles and make our streets less polluted. If you are thinking of switching to an electric car, many of the charging points in Bath are free, so if you can make use of them then the running costs of your car will be very low.
More information on the funding is available in the B&NES press release and in the Bath Chronicle here and here.