ELECTRIC car users across Basingstoke will now be able to charge their cars at a charging point in the town centre after Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council gave the green light to the scheme.

As reported by The Gazette, the borough council applied in May for planning permission to install an electric vehicle rapid charger unit at Central car park, in Red Lion Lane, for electric vehicles.

Planning officers have now approved the application, which means that one car parking space will be lost to accommodate the charging unit.

The borough council made a successful bid for Government funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, and as a result, 75 per cent of the cost of installing the rapid charger will be paid for by the Government. The remaining 25 per cent will be paid for by the Nissan Consortium.

The charging unit can fully charge an electrical vehicle in just 30 minutes and is just one of 100 rapid chargers available nationwide.

Other charging points surrounding the borough are at the Little Chef, in Popham on the A303 westbound and at Fleet Services on the M3.

Councillor Hayley Eachus, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet member for community services and the environment, said: “As well as cutting carbon emissions, there are huge savings that can be made by switching to an electric car, and to have one of only one hundred rapid chargers here in Basingstoke should make residents consider this option seriously.”

The charger is expected to be installed later this year.