Dacorum residents urged to help plan the electric vehicle re-volt-ution

Dacorum Borough Council is calling on residents to complete a short survey, which will help them to plan where to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

In Dacorum, transport is responsible for a 43% of the borough’s greenhouse gas emissions, to help tackle the climate emergency, reducing car use and increasing active travel - such as walking and cycling -, will be crucial in order to lower emissions in the borough.

From 2030, the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned. The number of electric vehicle drivers is growing and it’s a trend that’s set to continue.

Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, making them better not only for drastically helping to reduce emissions, but for improving our air quality too. Another key benefit for owners is the savings on fuel and running costs.

There were 915 electric vehicles licensed to addresses in Dacorum at the end of September 2020, according to latest DfT data – up by 40% from 654 in September 2019.

But, according to figures from the Department for Transport, Dacorum is failing to keep pace with the national rollout of electric vehicle charging points with just 22 public charging points in the borough.

That is a rate of 14 per 100,000 people, lower than the UK average of 31.

Since October 2019 – when figures began at a local authority level – Dacorum has seen nine devices added to its supply.

Dacorum Borough Council is currently developing an Electric Vehicle Strategy in order to support residents transition to electric vehicles. The council is working with various organisations on this, as well as Hertfordshire County Council.

Whilst the majority of residents will be able to easily charge their electric vehicles from home on their own driveways, this option is not available for over a third of Dacorum’s households.

As such, a key part of the strategy will be planning where to install more charging points throughout the borough – including council-owned car parks, residential streets and in new build developments.

The council will also be liaising with businesses to encourage them to install charging points on their land too.

Dacorum has launched a new Electric Vehicle Resident’s Survey, to help understand the short-term and future needs for residents. Click here to complete the survey.

Your answers to this survey will ensure that the council can plan to meet the borough’s growing needs; provide insight into various electric vehicle initiatives; as well as provide valuable evidence which can help the council secure funding for charging points.

In November, Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought forward the ban on petrol car sales from 2040 to 2030 as part of a "green industrial revolution" to tackle climate change.

A DfT spokesperson said: "This Government has committed £1.3 billion to rolling out charging infrastructure, and we would urge councils to use the funding we have made available to ensure their residents can access charge points.

"We have already supported the installation of more than 150,000 residential and almost 21,000 public charge points, and with further funding announced last week, even more people are set to benefit from better charge point access."

For more about electric vehicles visit: energysavingtrust.org.uk.