Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Infrastructure and TechnologyLatestNews

Zest partners with national park on charging

The North York Moors National Park Authority has worked in partnership with Zest on new EV charging facilities for visitors to the National Park. 

The first of 12 new charge points are open now in the car park at Hutton le Hole, with work beginning soon in Newton under Roseberry.

Leeds-based Zest has jointly funded the project alongside the National Park Authority to enable EV publicly accessible charging in these popular rural destinations. It will also operate and maintain the fast chargers.

This latest deployment follows a series of charge points opened last year by North Yorkshire Council and Zest. In the market towns of Helmsley, the only market town within the national park, Malton, and Pickering, EV charging facilities have already proved popular with residents and visitors.

The North York Moors National Park covers 554 square miles between Scarborough, Thirsk, and Teesside. Its moorland, coastline and wildlife attract almost nine million visitors a year.

Lucas St John, Commercial Manager for the National Park Authority, said:

“The introduction of EV charging points to the National Park has marked a significant step forward in terms of reducing carbon emissions in the North York Moors and we are delighted to see them rolled out across two more of our car parks.

“Hutton le Hole and Roseberry Topping are much-loved visitor destinations, so it’s really important that we provide facilities like EV charging to accommodate people now and in the future.”

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said:

“Each year millions of visitors flock to the North York Moors, and this increased footfall means we need to be prepared for a larger number of electric vehicles.

“Last year we adopted a new county-wide strategy to make electric vehicle charging available to all. We hope an enhanced network of charging points will support the uptake of electric vehicles over the next 10 years and help to tackle climate change.”

Zest Founder and CEO, Robin Heap, said:

“For a smooth transition to EV we need to invest in charging facilities at all the places where people naturally park, including popular rural destinations like National Parks.

“Our partnership with North York Moors shows the power of investing in the future, and that rural areas can play a key role in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality.”

Image from Zest

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