Circuit breakers

Oldham sets pace with electric car-chargers points

OLDHAM town centre is to get one of Manchester’s first public charging points for electric vehicles.

It is set to open by October 31 and will allow two vehicles to be topped up at the same time.

Another four are expected to follow shortly afterwards as part of £3.6million project to install 300 charging points across Greater Manchester.

The council is pressing ahead with five town-centre locations from a potential list of 20, many of which were ruled out because of the current Metrolink work.

These are the Civic Centre car park, the top two bays of the George Street taxi rank; Lord Street taxi rank; Yorkshire Street parking bays (outside Chinese buffet), and either the top or bottom end of the Cromwell Street car park.

Both taxi ranks are not considered to be well-used and it is intended to extend the proposed new stand on New Radclyffe Street to compensate.

There will be scope for further charging points in the town centre and across the borough from spring, 2012.

The Chronicle revealed how Hollinwood is already getting one of Greater Manchester’s first five POD centres as part of the two-year, Government-funded scheme.

It is expected to open on the former Roxy cinema site by spring, 2012, and will include rapid chargers as well as showcasing, selling, leasing and maintaining vehicles.

Joanne Betts, senior transport policy officer at Oldham Council, expects initial users of the charging points to be fleet vehicles or those hiring electric cars.