JOHN Grogan Ilkley’s MP has confirmed that a charging point for electric cars is to be installed at Hawksworth Street car park in Ilkley in the next few months. It is part of a project which is running between now and March 2020 and is being administered by Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Eighty-eight rapid charging points are due to be installed in West Yorkshire before March 2020

Mr Grogan said: “I understand the charging point in Hawksworth Street car park in Ilkley is likely to be in the first phase of delivery after a contractor is appointed. This will means that Ilkley residents with electric cars will no longer have to rely on the charging point at the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey which since the closure of the Rombalds Hotel has been the nearest available. Funding is available to local authorities from central Government for 75 per cent of the costs of installing a charge point. I am hopeful that the Chancellor may provide additional incentives for buying electric cars in the budget on October 29.In August 2018 one in every 12 cars sold in the UK was an electric vehicle. Consumers are currently given a discount of up to £4,500 when they buy a green vehicle that qualifies under the “plug-in grant” scheme for low-emission vehicles. However, experts have warned the Treasury that the tight budget for the scheme means large cuts will have to be made in the discounts available unless the Chancellor commits further funding. Electric cars are currently niche but if we are to successfully combat climate change they have to become mainstream in the next decade.”