Swale Borough Council will now save more than 30 tonnes of carbon every year with a fleet of nine new electric vehicles.
The zero-emission vehicles will help to improve the air quality in Swale. The council’s fleet regularly travel though the borough’s air quality management areas (AQMAs) where vehicle pollution contributes to poor air quality.
The council’s fleet of diesel vans has been replaced with nine Nissan e-NV200 vans that will be charged at the Swale House council offices in Sittingbourne via eight new EV chargers.
Three environmental warden vans, three green space vans, two dog warden vans and a parking services van are now out on the road alongside the Mayor’s car which was upgraded to an electric vehicle in December.
The new electric vans join the two Nissan Leaf electric cars already used by the council’s civil enforcement team.
Cllr Tim Valentine, cabinet member for the environment at the council, said:
“We’re delighted to reach this milestone.
“Replacing the council fleet with electric vehicles is part of our Climate and Ecological Emergency Action Plan. It will help us reduce our carbon emissions and improve the air quality in Swale.
“Each vehicle saves 3.38 tonnes of carbon every year, so the new fleet will save more than 30 tonnes of carbon and help us tackle climate change. The new vehicles will emit no nitrogen dioxide which causes poor air quality in our AQMAs along the A2.
“Not only will we save a huge amount of carbon, but we’ll also make long-term cost savings thanks to the lower running and maintenance costs of the electric vehicles.
“We hope our example can show local firms that the benefits of going electric are not only environmental but will help to reduce the costs of running vehicles.”
Cllr Eddie Thomas, deputy cabinet member for the environment at the council, said:
“People will now see the new electric fleet of council vehicles out on the road driven by our wardens and officers.
“We’ve worked hard to improve the infrastructure around the borough to encourage residents to also make the switch to zero-emissions vehicles.
“We already have two electric vehicle charging points at Swale House that are available on weekends, two bays at the Swallows carpark in Sittingbourne, four new bays at central car park in Faversham were installed last month, and four new bays at Rose Street car park in Sheerness have been completed this week.”
For more information on air quality around the borough visit: www.swale.gov.uk/news-and-your-council/air-quality
For information about government grants to meet the cost of installing workplace chargers visit: www.gov.uk/government/publications/workplace-charging-scheme-guidance-for-applicants-installers-and-manufacturers
Swale Borough Council
