Ryedale District Council (RDC) is launching a community-based £10.5k Electric Vehicle Charge Point grant scheme - the first of its kind in North Yorkshire.

The Electric Vehicle Charge Point grant scheme will help people move towards more sustainable ways to travel by enabling the use of low carbon transport modes, such as electric vehicles (EVs).

A maximum grant of £1,500 is available for each community group or organisation looking to install an Electric Vehicle Charge Point at a community building. Ryedale is home to many rural communities, which have at least one community building. These buildings are often centrally located in communities, making them suitable locations for publicly available Electric Vehicle Charge Points.

Phillip Spurr, programme director for Place and Resources for Ryedale District Council, said: “We want to increase the use of Electric Vehicles throughout the district to help us meet our commitment to actions to help achieve net zero emissions across Ryedale by 2050. The Electric Vehicle Charge Point Grant Scheme is an energy conscious project which will help us meet the environment ambitions outlined in the Council Plan and our Climate Change Action Plan.

“It’s a win-win for our citizens, visitors and community groups. With Electric Vehicle ownership increasing across the UK, this infrastructure will offer encouragement to those yet to make the switch to an Electric Vehicle and increase Ryedale’s attractiveness to visitors with an Electric Vehicle.”

There are two ways for community groups or organisations to apply for the scheme depending on where their project is at.

One - If community groups or organisations already have an existing project or existing plans to install an EV Charge Point then seven grants of up to £1.500 are available to use towards the cost of purchasing and installing an Electric Vehicle Charge Point.

Two - If community groups or organisations don’t currently have a project, but are interested in installing an Electric Vehicle Charge Point then Ryedale District Council can act as a lead organisation and put in an umbrella application to the On-Street Residential Charging scheme managed by the Energy Savings Trust. This step would work well for Parish Councils, Town Councils and Village Hall locations.

Application forms are online at www.ryedale.gov.uk/services/electric-vehicle-charge-point-scheme/ and the deadline for submitted applications is 30 November 2021.