In our last article on green transport possibilities in the Moorlands, we focused on community buses, electric bikes, active transport and car sharing schemes. However, there is another serious possibility - increased use of electric cars, which has had little traction in the this area so far. More than likely that is due to motorists’ “range anxiety”, a legitimate concern, especially to those of us who live in rural areas. The good news is that moves are afoot to dramatically increase the number of EV charging points in the UK, with Ofgem planning to build infrastructure for 3,550 new ultra-rapid charging points on motorways and in towns, as well as investing in upgrading Britain’s electricity grids.
So far so good, but how many EV charging points do we need in the Moorlands? According to Friends of the Earth, there are currently 8 in the Staffordshire Moorlands but there should be 472 to meet the 2030 target set by the Climate Change Committee, the Government’s advisory body. The CCC has a clear vision of how transportation can be decarbonised but their recommendations are not always heeded by Government. So what we can WE do?
There are several approaches we can take, if we want to embrace electric cars now rather than wait until they are forced on us by Government policy and then struggle with the sparse network of EV charging points that may well be the lot of more rural areas.
• Find out more about EV charging and where the charging points are around the country
• Contact our local councillors to persuade the council to have more installed in public places
• Encourage local businesses to have at least one installed on their car parks
• Investigate the possibility of having community-funded chargepoints.
The good news is that there are Government grants available, so we should make our councillors and local businesses aware of them.
If you would like to get together with other MCA members to take a concerted action on this, please do get in touch by e-mailing us at
We can’t leave this topic without congratulating and thanking Cllr Bill Cawley, who has already persuaded Morrisons to install a chargepoint in their carpark, as pictured above. We understand that at least one other councillor is also working on getting a charger installed. May there be many more!