A SERIES of charging points for electric vehicles have gone live across Cumbria.

Nine sites have been commissioned by Cumbria County Council and are available for use by residents, visitors and businesses.

They are located in Kendal, Ulverston, Kirkby Stephen, Kirkby Lonsdale, Ambleside, Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Keswick.

All nine sites have a rapid charger, which can efficiently charge most electric vehicles within 30 minutes. In addition, a fast charger, suitable for longer top-ups, is available at the sites in Kendal, Workington, Carlisle and Keswick.

MORE TOP STORIES: The project was made possible after CCC secured funding of £438,000 to create a countywide electric vehicle infrastructure.

The Government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles has supplied 75 per cent of the funding through its Local Authority Rapid and Public Sector Estate Chargepoint schemes and 25 per cent match funding has been secured from a private investor.

The charging service will be provided by ChargePoint Genie. South Lakeland District, Copeland Borough and Allerdale Borough Councils. The county council has provided sites for charge points within car parks and parking areas.

In South Lakeland the charging points for electric vehicles are located at: Kendal County Offices car park on Busher Walk; Ulverston's Brewery Street car park; Kirkby Lonsdale's New Road car park; Ambleside's Low Fold car park on Lake Road and Kirkby Stephen's Christian Head car park.

Cllr Janet Willis, CCC Cabinet member responsible for Environment, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that charging points for electric vehicles are up and running in the county, providing a low carbon transport solution.

"I’d like to thank our district council partners who played a key role in providing locations within their car parks for the chargers, ensuring they’re easily accessible to the public. This has been a complex project and it’s taken a while to get everything in place but it’s been well worth the wait.

“Up until now there have been limited charging facilities in Cumbria. I’m sure this project will help open up the county to more electric vehicle drivers and make a real difference, both in Cumbria and nationally.”

Justin Meyer, General Manager of Evolt, a division of APT Controls Group, said the new chargers will impact positively the lives of electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid drivers in and around Cumbria: “The new network will drive forward EV activity in the region, with the infrastructure actively supporting the ambitions of an ever-increasing industry,” he said.