RAPID electric vehicle charging points are to be installed in Malton and Norton by Ryedale District Council (RDC), in partnership with Highways England.

Water Lane and St Nicholas Street car parks are the preferred locations in Malton and Norton for the installation of two rapid electric vehicle charging points, being close to retail shops and cafes.

Drivers will be able to top up their vehicles while shopping in the town, with a full charge in under 30 minutes.

Cllr Luke Ives, chairman of the RDC’s policy and resources committee, said: “This is an excellent initiative for the council and it brings new technology, and potentially new customers, to the businesses of Malton and Norton.

“It’s great that people will be able to ‘top-up’ while they shop. It’s not only beneficial to the environment, but also another great improvement to boost our local economy.

“We know that previously Ryedale has been a difficult area for electric vehicle owners to visit and travel around.

“The council is delighted that the application for grant funding has been successful to enable the introduction of these charge points as they’ll not only make the area more accessible for visitors but also make life easier for our electric vehicle-owning residents and maybe even encourage other drivers to consider owning an electric vehicle.”

The council added that encouraging the use of electric vehicles in Malton and Norton will improve air quality and reduce traffic noise in the two towns.

The Government has a target to promote the use of electric vehicles of nine per cent of all sales by 2020 increasing to 60 per cent by 2030.

In order to ensure that the district benefits from this growth, rapid charge points will be essential to attract electric vehicle drives to the towns across Ryedale.

Jo White, head of Highways England, said they were committed to ensuring 95 per cent of the network is within 20 miles of a charge point.

Work on the charging points starts this month and the council hopes they will become fully operational in the spring.

Update: Ryedale District Council confirmed the new chargers will be compatible with contactless credit/debit/RFID payments as well as through an App.