PUBLIC charging points for Craven’s electric vehicle owners have been installed in Settle, with more to follow shortly in Bentham, Gargrave, Cross Hills, Ingleton and Skipton.

The three fast electric vehicle charging bays are now up and running in Ashfield Car Park, Settle, by Craven District Council’s preferred supplier Osprey Charging Network.

The charging points are located in bays next to the car park of Settle Social Club and have a maximum stay of four hours. Parking charges do not apply while the vehicle is charging.

Following the successful pilot in Skipton's High Street Car Park, where charging points were fitted in August, 2020, Ashfield Car Park and Coach Street Car Park in Skipton were identified to expand the network of electric vehicle charging points at council owned car parks.

Keen to encourage greater use of electric vehicles, Paul Ellis, the council’s director of services, said: “We are delighted to bring fast, reliable charging to the district and making it more accessible for residents who use them.

“Switching from a standard fuel vehicle to an electric one significantly reduces the carbon emissions of a journey and the new charging points in Settle align with our current climate plan and commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030.”

Powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, the 7kW chargers add around 30 miles of charge an hour, depending on the car and battery. They are compatible with all electric vehicles on the road, providing a total of four AC fast charging sockets serving three dedicated parking bays. Drivers need to bring their own cable to plug in.

To use the chargers, the Osprey Charging App or RFID card is needed. At all Osprey rapid chargers, such as in Skipton High Street car park, normal contactless bank cards are accepted and there is no need to set up an account.

More rapid charging points are being installed across the district and are due to go live in May.

They will be at Grasmere Drive, Bentham; Milligan Fields, Cross Hills; North Street, Gargrave; Community Centre Ingleton and Coach Street, Skipton.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council recently heard how the council was submitting a bid to the Government for £2.7m funding to increase the number of charging points in rural locations. It hopes to install 140 charging points over four rural sites in each of its seven districts, including Craven.

In addition, the pilot would see one site per district get an accessible electric vehicle that provides ‘on demand’ community transport.