Electric car charging points coming to West Berkshire

Each charging point will cost £10,000 to install - with the majority of that figure being met in the form of a grant from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the rest being funded by the council.
The ‘fast chargers’ will allow an electric car to be fully charged within two to four hours, as opposed to the more expensive ‘rapid’ version, which can charge a car within 30 minutes.
It has not yet been decided where the charging points will be situated - and councillors are now being encouraged to come forward with suggestions.
Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News this week, portfolio holder for the Cleaner Greener programme, Dominic Boeck (Cons, Thatcham South and Crookham), said: “We have the money there to install two charging points in the next financial year.
“We deliberately deployed a small number first of all to see how well it would work and how effective it would be.”
In February, the Newbury Weekly News reported that three charging points are to be installed in the Kennet Centre car park for West Berkshire Council staff to use.
It is part of the council’s pilot scheme to reduce the carbon emissions associated with its internal fleet and staff vehicles.
Earlier this year First Great Western announced that Theale and Aldermaston stations will receive public charging point installations, with Newbury following as part of the redevelopment project for the railway station and Market Street.
The council said it hopes that by the end of 2014, electric vehicles will be increasingly used as a viable alternative for council business.
It also wants to encourage other businesses and households to follow suit and benefit from the low running costs of electric cars.