A CHARGING point for electric cars will be installed at the Little Chef in Popham using funds from the Government.

Hampshire County Council has secured £315,000 from the Government to install a network of rapid electric vehicle charge points.

Authorities across the UK have spent £7.2million installing points since April 2010, and Hampshire County Council is the latest to announce its plans to put in a network of six in the county. They will join 4,300 nationwide, despite only 4,100 electric cars registered – equating to £1,750 of council spending per car.

The funding for the points in Hampshire comes from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and will create a network of 12 rapid charge points in key locations in the region, six of which will be in Hampshire.

The points can sufficiently charge a vehicle for an onward journey in 20 to 30 minutes. Along with the Popham point, others include Little Chef, in Sutton Scotney, Little Chef, in Barton Stacey, Central Car Park in Petersfield, and The Furlong in Ringwood.

The remaining six will be within the boundaries of Wiltshire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Isle of Wight Council. The points will be fitted with two different types of connector and will use a pay-as-you-go system for which no registration is required.

Councillor Seán Woodward, executive member for economy, transport and environment, said: “The county council wants to make a significant contribution to cutting carbon emissions in Hampshire alongside developing transport infrastructure to meet future demands.

“Helping to encourage greater use of electric vehicles is one way we can achieve this.

“One of the barriers to people buying electric vehicles is easy access to quick and universal charging points. This new network of rapid charge points will be a good starting point in breaking this barrier down.”

Councillor Mel Kendal, executive member for income and capital resources, who has been working with the Association of European Regions on harmonisation of electric vehicle infrastructure, said: “More recent technological developments have given us the confidence that installing charge points is a sensible long-term investment as there is now a Europe-wide standard plug connection for charging electric vehicles.”