Electric vehicles on the charge

Charging points for electric vehicles are set to be installed at five locations across the High Peak by Spring this year in a £160,000 project.

The charge points will be installed in car parks at the Municipal Buildings in Glossop, Miry Meadow in Chapel-en-le-Frith, South Street in Buxton, and Hope car park. 

A fifth point will be installed at Station Road in Hadfield, under a separate scheme funded by Highways England. It was chosen as it is close to Woodhead Road - a main route between Manchester and Sheffield. 

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

The installation has been co-ordinated by High Peak Borough Council, in conjunction with Derbyshire County Council and Nottingham City Council.

The borough council say it is committed to improving air quality, protecting the environment and to providing car parking which meets the needs of residents. 

Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, Deputy Council Leader and Executive Councillor for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure, 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.