County’s First Electric Car Club To Launch In Tilton On The Hill

Leicestershire’s first electric car club is to launch in Tilton on the Hill.

The village, which has no public transport, will benefit from two electric cars, which will act as pool cars and be available for residents to hire out.

Harborough District Council has teamed up with Leicester-based Green Fox Community Energy Co-operative for the pilot scheme, which will also see EV charge points installed at the village hall car park.

Cllr Phil King, Leader of the Council, told HFM he is delighted the groundbreaking project is to launch in the district:

The livery design for Tilton on the Hill’s electric cars

With financial support from the national Motability Scheme, Green Fox are one of four organisations taking part in the 18-month national pilot to help develop a blueprint for rolling out electric car clubs across the country.

With a focus on improving rural mobility, the electric car clubs will be open to all in local communities and offer a volunteer drivers scheme to help residents who can’t drive with medical appointments, shopping, visiting friends and days out.

Ben Dodd, a director of Green Fox, said: “We know it’s not economically viable for commercial operators to provide this type of service in rural areas, but villages and small towns can run electric car clubs for their communities, and they just need the support to do so. This project provides the electric charging infrastructure in villages that would otherwise be left behind in the transition to electric transport.”

Harborough District Council is hoping to secure further funding from the government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund to support similar projects.