Whitehill & Bordon is a step closer to having an electric car club

Testing an electric car: Mayor Adam Carew

Whitehill & Bordon Eco-town is waiting to find out if it has been chosen to be one of the first communities in the UK to have an electric car club (known as an E-car club).

Eight communities across the UK were shortlisted for an E-car club from more than 100 communities who originally expressed an interest.

To win residents needed to complete at least 100 questionnaires and show support at a community engagement event and focus group meeting.

More than 100 questionnaires were returned which the project organisers said was a fantastic response.

The community engagement event was held on March 28^th at Whitehill Village Hall in partnership with East Hampshire Environment Network (EHEN) and funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of the Local Energy Assessment Fund project.

It was attended by about 40 residents who found out how an E-car club would work. The organisers also brought an Electric Nissan Leaf to the event so that residents could see an electric car.

As well as finding out about the E-car club, residents learned about the Eco-town and EHEN’sDECCfunded thermal imaging project which shows where heat is being lost in their homes.

There was then a focus group meeting which was for those who had responded to the questionnaire or who had attended the engagement group.

Ten people attended the focus group which was held at the Forest Community Centre on Thursday April 5^th, to help the organisers decide where the cars could be located in the town, what types of journeys the cars would be used for, and when people could use an E-car club in preference to their own cars.

Whitehill & Bordon Eco-town will find out if it will have one of the first E-car Clubs in theUKby the end of April.

Cllr Glynis Watts, EHDC’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “There has been a great deal of interest in the electric car club and I very much hope we are chosen to have one.”

Cllr Adam Carew, Mayor of the town, said: “I had the opportunity to see one of these cars first hand and they are fantastic.

“An electric car club would be a great addition to the town.”