Industrial estate rapid charger supports greener businesses

28 Sep 2020

An electric vehicle rapid charger, the third of its kind installed by West Suffolk is seeing strong use on a town industrial estate.

West Suffolk Council has installed the rapid charger in James Carter Road on the Mildenhall Industrial Estate, as part of wider renovation work on business units there.

The rapid charger, which allows electric vehicle (EV) drivers to substantially recharge their vehicle in as little as half an hour, has been in use nearly every day since it went live in late August, powering more than 3,400 tailpipe emission free miles. The installation of the Mildenhall rapid charger comes just a few months after the council switched on a Rapid Charger in All Saints Car Park in Newmarket, secured through developer funds. A third rapid charger in School Yard East, Bury St Edmunds was secured following investment by Highways England.

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “This latest charger, which is primarily for the businesses on the Mildenhall Industrial Estate, is part of our continuing commitment to help tackle climate change. We know that EVs produce no tailpipe emissions compared to petrol or diesel which produce a whole list of toxic pollutants within their fumes. Those fumes can have a huge impact on people’s health – and that costs the country tens of millions of pounds each year in health and social care costs, not to mention the sick days lost to UK business.

“That is why it we continue to support making EV travel a viable option for our residents and businesses and work with partners to secure the investment in EV infrastructure, giving people the confidence to switch from petrol or diesel vehicles.”

Electric vehicles are cheaper to run than petrol or diesel cars - generally fuel costs are a third of their fossil fuel equivalents as well as delivering a significant carbon reduction compared to petrol or diesel vehicles and reducing other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide. West Suffolk Council is also using an electricity supplier who uses 100 per cent renewable energy. By switching to EVs people are helping reduce air pollution which Public Health England says cost the country £42.88 million in health and social care costs in 2017.

Drivers will pay for the electricity they purchase via contactless card or use their existing Polar network account.

As well as the rapid chargers, the council also has five EV chargers in its car parks in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Newmarket and following the car parks review, it is looking to deliver more EV chargers in Haverhill, as well as in Brandon and Mildenhall. Alongside this, the council is also running a pilot scheme with EV chargers connected to lampposts at 22 West Suffolk locations, allowing residents to recharge their EV overnight, close to their home.

West Suffolk Council offers the Greener Business Grant which can match fund a business up to £1000 towards the cost of a company EV or company EV charge point. For more details email environment@westsuffolk.gov.uk

The investment in electric vehicle infrastructure is just one of the ways that the council is working to address climate change. For more details on other council environment work, visit https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/environment

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