A new electric vehicle charging social enterprise has started up in Cumbria to address the chronic shortage of charging points in rural towns and villages.

Charge my Street is aiming to get a chargepoint within five minutes’ walk of every resident without off street parking.

By putting chargepoints into community buildings and making them available for overnight charging, the organisation hopes to switch more rural residents to electric vehicles.

Currently they are seeking investment for charging points in Lancaster, Broughton in Furness and Alston.

“The price of diesel has been killing rural communities for years” said Daniel Heery, one of the founder members.

“With the range of electric cars increasing rapidly, they can seriously reduce the cost of a 25 mile a day commute.”

The chargepoints will also be available to tourists, with evidence from a recent survey in Alston showing that some tourists have already cancelled bookings and gone elsewhere due to the lack of a charging point.

Broughton in Furness Victory Hall aims to use solar power from the panels on its roof to charge cars, giving it an additional revenue stream.

Charging batteries in electric vehicles can support rural renewable projects helping them become more viable since the withdrawl of other government subsidises.

If the model works in this trial, then it will be extended to other rural communities.

Charge my Street is seeking investors in community shares to cover the £38,000 cost of the chargepoints by the end of March.

More details can be found at www.chargemystreet.co.uk/share.