Haggerston Castle is delighted to be the first holiday centre in the UK to benefit from a Quick Charge point for use by the ever increasing number of electrically powered vehicles on the roads.
The new unit, due to be unveiled on June 23rd means it will be possible to travel from Newcastle to Edinburgh, re-charging at the five star Haven Holiday park, which is conveniently located directly on the A1. Eco-conscious holidaymakers and holiday home owners staying on the park will be able to travel around the region making use of charging points located at a number of National Parks and other attractions.
Haven takes its’ environmental responsibilities very seriously and Haggerston Castle has held a Gold David Bellamy Conservation Award ever since the scheme began. More recently it has been awarded a Silver Green Tourism Business Award and the park hopes that the introduction of the Fast Charger will help boost this to Gold this year.
Daniel Coward, Environmental Consultant to Haven holds a unique role within the UK holiday industry. He said ‘I’m absolutely delighted that Haggerston Castle has been chosen as a site for the Quick Charger. Promoting the use of electric vehicles fits in with all our best environmental practices. We have policies in place to minimise our CO2 emissions on all our parks and the Fast Charge unit will help us take our green mission the extra mile. We want to do everything we can to encourage people to shun gas-guzzling transport in favour of carbon neutral travel around the region.’
Recent motoring surveys have revealed that people in the North East are more likely to buy an electric vehicle than other regions, with 5% of those questioned expressing an interest in the benefits of motoring for around 2p per mile – compared to 2% nationwide.
Experts have cited ‘range anxiety’ as the main reason for not converting to electric power but the North East’s Charge your Car project is hoping to combat this with plans to install 1000 charging points by 2013, including 12 quick chargers which can recharge cars such as the Nissan LEAF and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV by up to 80% of their capacity in 20-30 minutes. Drivers stopping off at Haggerston Castle will be able to enjoy a stroll around the park and the lakes or the chance to take a coffee-break whilst their car charges.
This infrastructure work is part of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) 'Plugged-In Places' initiative, which is helping to establish electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in key strategic locations around the UK. The North East fund of £7.8m has been funded with £2.9m from OLEV, £3.8m from One North East and just over £1m from regional partners. The 1,000 charge points will also include residential charging points, along with the mixture of standard and ‘intelligent’ 7KW and 3KW charge points being installed at businesses and in public car parks.
John Lowes, Nissan Senior Engineer and Charging Infrastructure Specialist currently working with the Charge your Car Team, said, ‘We’re really pleased to work with Haggerston Castle. The location on the A1 is perfect and Haven’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions makes them the ideal partner for a project of this nature.’
General Manager Gordon Walker said, ‘Many of our holiday home owners and holidaymakers live no more than 2 hours drive from Haggerston Castle. We’re hoping the Fast Charge unit will provide the additional incentive for them to take the plunge and convert to electrically charged motoring.’
The charger will be available for use by motorists from June 23rd and can be found at Haggerston Castle, TD15 2PA , signposted from the AI seven miles south of Berwick on Tweed. The full network of charging points can be viewed online at www.chargeyourcar.org.uk
For more information about Haggerston Castle visit www.haven.com
09/06/2011
For media information please contact About Words on 01444 235 154 or email deborah@aboutwords.co.uk
Note for editors:
Stats from the BBC: Experts expect that 8,600 electric cars will be sold by the end of this year with two million of the cars on Britain's roads electric powered by 2020.
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