An email sent to councillors has revealed a council is trialling a network of electric vehicle charging points as it chases carbon neutral status by 2030.

In July 2019 Denbighshire council passed a motion declaring a climate change and ecological  emergency and pledged to become a net carbon zero council within 11 years.

With new legislation brought in to stop the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030, and hybrids by 2035, the council has moved to develop its infrastructure of charging points for electric vehicles.

The first trial tranche of those will see charging points installed at eight locations across the county by April 2022.

The places identified for the pilot scheme were chosen after surveying 52 potential sites.

The locations and numbers are:

Denbigh – Barkers Well Lane multi-storey car park: 2 x 22kW AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

St Asaph – Bowling Green car park: 1 x 22kW AC (ability to charge 2 vehicles)

Llangollen – Market Street car park: 2 x 22 kW AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

Llangollen – Pavilion car park: 2 x 22 kW AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

Ruthin – Cae Ddol car park: 2 x 7Kw AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

Ruthin – Craft Centre car park: 2 x 22 kW AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

Prestatyn – Fern Avenue car park: 2 x7Kw AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

Rhyl – Morley Road car park: 2 x 22kW AC (ability to charge 4 vehicles)

A Denbighshire council email about the project, sent to councillors, said: “Transport is a significant contributor to the global climate crisis and is also a key contributor to the Council’s carbon footprint through not only its fleet requirements but also through employee journeys to and from work and for business purposes.

“New legislation has brought the date for the ban on sales of petrol and diesel vehicles forward to 2030 with the sale of hybrid cars to cease in 2035.

“Whilst electric vehicle ownership in Denbighshire is still low it is expected that this will start to change as we move towards this deadline.

“A lack of Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure is considered to be one of the major barriers to people making the transition to EV Ownership and there are very few Electric Vehicle Charging Points currently available to the public away from the A55 corridor.

“In addition, not every residential property will have provision for their own off-street charging.”

Money for the scheme has been handed out by the council’s strategic investment group and the authority will be lobbying for more funding from central government to progress the plans.

The council hopes data collated from the trial, about drivers’ use of the  charging points, will help inform subsequent installations.

Each charging point will be fitted with a Type 2 socket outlet compliant with BS EN 62196.

The email continued: “The assessment was based on a combination of factors including land ownership, size and accessibility of the car parks, proximity to a key route/destination or suitable residential areas, safety considerations and affordability including the potential cost of providing a suitable and sufficient electricity supply to the site.

“Other sites assessed also have potential for the future but are likely to be more difficult and/or expensive to deliver.”