• New cycle routes/facilities at St Nicholas Park; Newbold Comyn; and Victoria Park.
• Installation of over 50 additional public charging points in south Warwickshire car parks took place during Spring 2021
• Installation of 8 on-road EV charging points during Spring 2021 to trial locations where this can bring benefits.
• Working with Warwickshire County Council in undertaking a study on the future of electric vehicles and the need for EV charging to support this.  This will form the basis for an EV charging strategy.
• Introduction of predominantly electric vehicles for our directly operated fleet vehicles.
• We have worked with Warwickshire County Council to ensure the Local Transport Plan 4 will have a strong focus on Climate Change – for example, electrification, alternative fuels and active travel.
• Encouraging sustaiable travel choice through a local incentive scheme called 'Choose How You Move' run through the organisation Betterpoints. 

Cars, transport and vehicle electrification 

How you travel for work and leisure has an impact on the climate as vehicles, particularly cars, emit large quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs). These GHGs cause air pollution and contribute to global warming.

If you currently rely on using the car, you may want to consider transitioning to a more sustainable form of travel such as cycling, car sharing, taking the bus or walking. And if you join the Choose How You Move in Warwick District challenge, you can be rewarded for it!

Cycling

Warwick district has some beautiful scenery, and as giving an excuse to get outdoors and being more environmentally friendly, according to the NHS, cycling has numerous health benefits such as reducing the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and strokes. It can also help boost your mood and maintain a healthy weight.

If you are new to cycling, and are looking for more information, visit Warwickshire County Council's website to find out more through cycle route maps and travel guides.

You may want to consider car-sharing and there is a local car-share scheme run through Liftshare.com to find local car sharers. This helps to reduce the number of cars on the road and also saves money! Alternatively, if you work within a large organisation, you may want to set-up a specific scheme of your own to car share to work with your colleagues.

Electric vehicles

We as a Council, are working to provide a reliable and comprehensive network of Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers across the District. This is to ensure all residents have access to charging point infrastructure, regardless if they have access to a private driveway or not.  This is to meet the current demands for EV infrastructure and to encourage the uptake of cleaner, electric vehicles in the future.  You can use Zap-Map to find electric car charging points near you.

There are numerous benefits of electric vehicles including:

• Lower running costs
• Less greenhouse gas emissions
• Government grants available towards costs of charging point installation and the cost of buying an electric car.  

OLEV (Office of Low Emission Vehicles), is a team working across government to support the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV). The OLEV Grant, specifically named the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), provides up to £500 off the cost of purchasing and installing a home charging point. This grant is available for most electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars, and you can claim one charge point per eligible vehicle and up to two eligible vehicles per household. In order to be eligible for this grant you must:

• Have purchased an eligible electric or plug in hybrid vehicle from 1 October 2016.
• You must have off-street parking.
• You must install an OLEV-approved charge point.
• The date of installation must not be more than 4 months ahead of the date of delivery or date the customer becomes the registered driver of the electric vehicle.
• You must use an OLEV-approved charge point installer.

Find out more about which vehicles are eligible and how to claim this grant.

Additionally, the UK government also offers this grant towards the purchase price of a new electric vehicle. The discount is up to 35% of the purchase price of a car (up to £3500) and is applied at the dealership. Manufacturers of eligible vehicles include Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Nissan, Kia, Audi and Hyundai.