THERE are more public electric vehicle charging points in South Lakeland than there were two years ago, new figures show.

As people are urged to "invest in our planet" for Earth Day 2022, the Government is aiming to entirely phase out petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2030.

Department for Transport figures show there were 88 publicly provided charging points in South Lakeland on January 1 – up from 77 the year prior and 66 two years ago.

They were among 28,375 installed across the UK at the start of this year, up from 16,505 in January 2020.

South Lakeland residents had also installed 419 at-home charging points through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme as of January 1 – a 135% increase over the last two years, further Department for Transport figures outline.

The scheme gives applicants a 75% grant towards the cost of installing the charging point up to £350.

There have also been 47 charging points installed at workplaces.

But with residents requiring "designated, private off-street parking" for the Homecharge Scheme, the SMMT has argued for more investment for those who only have on-street parking available.

Across the North West, 107 charging points have been fitted as a part of the On-Street Residential Scheme, to which local authorities can apply to fund installations.

A further 59 applications have been approved since April 2019, but installation remains incomplete.