Tilton on the Hill is supercharged from electric car club and council funded EV chargepoints

Published Friday 24 February 2023

Harborough District Council has teamed up with Leicester-based Green Fox Community Energy Co-operative and residents of Tilton on the Hill to develop the county’s first rural electric car club.

A picture of the livery design for Tilton on the Hill's electric cars
The livery design for Tilton on the Hill's electric cars

Tilton on the Hill, which has no public transport, school or doctors’ surgery will benefit from two electric cars as pool cars from Green Fox which the community can book to hire out when needed. The village will also benefit from two double EV chargepoints located at the village hall which the council has funded and will allow up to four electric cars to be charged.

Cllr Phil King, leader of Harborough District Council, said: “We are really pleased to support this project which addresses rural isolation and improves Tilton on the Hill’s connectivity with other areas in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way. Both the electric car club and EV chargepoints play an important role in reducing carbon emissions which helps us create a cleaner and green district.”

With financial support from the national Motability Scheme, Green Fox are one of four organisations taking part in an 18-month national pilot to help develop a blueprint for rolling out electric car clubs across the country. With a focus on improving rural mobility, the electric car clubs will be open to all in local communities and offer a volunteer drivers scheme to help residents who can’t drive with medical appointments, shopping, visiting friends and days out.

Ben Dodd, a director of Green Fox, said: “We know it’s not economically viable for commercial operators to provide this type of service in rural areas, but villages and small towns can run electric car clubs for their communities, and they just need the support to do so. This project provides the electric charging infrastructure in villages that would otherwise be left behind in the transition to electric transport.”

Tilton on the Hill’s electric car club which will launch in March and will provide the template for other Leicestershire villages and small towns to follow, particularly as Harborough District Council is hoping to secure further funding from the government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund to support similar projects. If any rural villages in Harborough district would be interested in exploring this for their area, please contact: business@harborough.gov.uk