Charge of the electric brigade

Oldham Council has a shortlist of up to nine charging points in the area, in town centre and district sites to encourage drivers to use EV cars.

A consortium led by Transport for Greater Manchester and the 10 district councils — including Oldham — has plans for 160 charging points across Greater Manchester at park-and-ride sites and other locations, some as early as next month.

Twenty points will be installed at private-sector locations, paid for by their users

TfGM hopes 50 of the 160 sites will be running by the end of March, the rest following in the summer.

Oldham is one of the pioneering areas for green transport, with a new charging hub and showroom in Hollinwood now being built.

The private-sector led project, by the Manchester Electric Car Company, will transform the former Roxy Cinema site into a one-stop shop for electric vehicles — the first of its kind in the country, where drivers can lease, hire and charge electric vehicles.

Authorities hope the increasing availability of charging points will promote sales of EV cars — interest in which has waned dramatically in the recession, due to their high initial cost.