Council leads way in tackling climate change

Hastings Borough Council has committed to installing 15 new electric vehicle ('EV') charging points across its town centre car parks by the end of this financial year.

On Tuesday evening, the council's cabinet approved £35,000 funding to be invested in the installation of these additional electric vehicle charging points.

This project is one of many key bits of work set out in the council's climate change action plan to help to make Hastings carbon neutral by 2030.

Work has already begun in Pelham Place Car Park and Marina Car Park by removing two faulty EV chargers and replacing them with four new ones.
In addition to this, the council has made a grant application to the Accelerated Towns Fund for £15,000 to support the expansion of the town centre electric vehicle infrastructure.

If the grant application is approved this will be supported by the council's own funds to install 10 new chargers at the Priory Street Multi-Storey Car Park, two new chargers at Carlisle Parade Car Park and a further two new chargers at Pelham Place Car Park.

As well as doing what it can to improve electric vehicle charging resources and infrastructure in the town, the council will also be lobbying local supermarkets and partners in the public sector to do their bit.

Cllr Maya Evans, lead councillor for Natural Environment and Leisure, said,

"Last year, in February, Hastings Borough Council passed an emergency climate change motion, acknowledging the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which warned the world that we have less than 10 years to stop global temperatures from increasing by 1.5 degrees. Hastings Borough Council takes tackling climate change extremely seriously as the biggest issue facing humans today. We have a duty of care to our residents and tackling climate change is a top priority.

"At the start of lockdown, we published our climate change strategy and action plan for going carbon neutral by 2030. We found that 26% of the towns carbon emissions are from transport, therefore transferring to electric vehicles is key to meeting our objectives. These EV Charge points are the beginning of more to come, we are also urging our partners at East Sussex County Council to take up their responsibilities and install on-street charge points in order to allow residents, especially those living in flats, to buy and charge electric vehicles. We are also encouraging out commercial partners to install EV charging in their car parks.

"COVID-19 has given us more of an incentive for clean air as pollution increases the chances of respiratory diseases such as asthma and lung cancer, which exacerbates health vulnerability and fatal impacts of the disease. Decreasing carbon is not only essential for the natural environment, it is also key for the good health of residents."