How Highland Council is supporting a low carbon transport transition through delivering and supporting Electric Vehicle infrastructure projects and initiatives
The Highland Council’s ongoing commitment to tackling the climate emergency is being clearly evidenced through its ongoing EV (Electric Vehicle) infrastructure programme which is attracting national interest.
The Highland Council has recently been contacted to provide information for an article highlighting the performance of local authorities across the UK in terms of EV provision
The Council is part of the Local Authority Installation Programme (LAIP), which is funded by the Scottish Government to further develop the EV public charging network so that EV drivers can confidently travel throughout Scotland – in both urban and rural locations.
It has been awarded over £3m since the first EV charge point was installed in 2012.
The Council has an existing programme to install around 50 additional charging points across a number of sites during 20/21, the vast majority of these are either completed or in progress on site.
It released its first EV Infrastructure Vision in September 2020. The vision, which was led by members, outlines the Council’s direction of travel and will form part of a wider Strategic Control Plan designed to allow a refreshed approach towards EV infrastructure project delivery and planning.
Chair of the Highland Council’s Climate Change Working Group, Cllr Trish Robertson, said: “The continuation of our commitment to providing EV charging points across the Highlands is a key part of our responsibility in addressing the climate emergency. The Scottish Government has pledged to phase out new petrol and diesel cars and vans across Scotland by 2032 so it is important that the work we have started continues and people are confident that making the change over to EV vehicles is a practical option as well as one that will help to reduce our impact on the environment.”
To encourage the uptake of EVs, a successful promotional campaign was undertaken involving Highland schools in 2019/20; younger children submitted entries to design a logo for the side of the Highland Council electric vehicle used by the Climate Change team, and older children submitted entries to design a logo for charging points. The logos and signage are being deployed around Highland.
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Margaret Davidson added: “Here in the Highlands we face unique geographical challenges but the small dedicated project team we have are very proactive when it comes to delivering and supporting the many strands of associated works. For example, they have supported various requests for assistance channeled through the planning process which has resulted in us producing our own planning guidance for new residential developments ahead of national policy.
“This policy along with our Strategic Control Plan which is in development, will help to accelerate EV infrastructure delivery by improving the early planning and management of projects, making the rollout more effective and integrated with other low carbon transport plans in Highland.”