TWENTY-FOUR electric vehicle charging points will be installed in Somerset car parks this year.

To encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles, the charging points will be installed in Mendip District Council (MDC) owned car parks during the summer.

They will provide 56 bays for electric vehicle charging.

The proposed locations for the charging points are Cattle Market Car Park in Frome (eight bays); St Johns Car Park in Glastonbury (six bays); Northside Car Park and Southside Car Park in Street (ten bays and six bays); Union Street Car Park in Wells (eight bays); Great Ostry Car Park and Cannards Grave Road in Shepton Mallet (eight bays and ten bays).

Deputy leader of MDC and portfolio holder for Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Josh Burr, said: “We are delighted to be able to secure such a fantastic offering for the district which will hopefully aid our residents and visitors to the district in the transition to electric vehicles over the coming years.

“We recognise that MDC is one part of a much larger jigsaw of solutions across the area, however, this is a significant step forward to a more sustainable travel network in the future.”

Work is due to begin over the summer on the installation programme by partners Franklin Energy.

“We are delighted to be working with MDC in building their first charging network from the ground up,” said Robert Byrne, managing director at Franklin Energy.

“The availability of public charging stations is an ongoing problem, but projects like this will give local residents greater comfort and confidence in making the switch to electric vehicles.”

Franklin Energy is a leading provider of electric car charging in Liverpool and provides charging points to both business and business customers.

The company operates the LiFe network, which Franklin Energy plans to expand to 5,000 public chargers by the end of 2025.