West Berkshire Council has signed off on a low emission vehicle strategy in order to drive forward a transition to electric vehicles in the area.
The local authority made the move as less than 1% of the almost 120,000 vehicles in the district were ultra low emission vehicles last year.
The plans would see the council commit to more EV charging points across the area alongside incentives for taxi and private hire vehicles to purchase EVs by 2035.
The move was also made ahead of the government’s plans to bring forward the ban of sales of petrol and diesel vehicles, potentially to as early as 2030. Plans include free parking and charging incentives.
The council’s executive member for the environment, Steve Ardagh-Walter said the plans were in the early stages, but hoped that within the next three or four years “a significant number” of electric vehicle purchases would occur in the area.
The member for transport, Richard Somner, said costs for EVs was prohibitive to take up and that the price “needs to come down” – and government support would help.
“The technology being developed, and the speed with which it comes forward, make it incredibly difficult for this to be an absolutely complete strategy.
“It is a strategy that allows us to start to build in the right direction.”
