A community drop-in event is set to take place ahead of a new Eco Car Club which is due to be launched in Keswick this autumn.
Sustainable Keswick is hosting the event at Keswick’s Quaker Meeting House on Tuesday, October 8, from 6pm to 8.30pm.
A spokesman said: “The event is for members of the local community who are interested in finding out more about a new Eco Car Club.
“A community car club is a local, member-based initiative that provides access to self-service, pay as you drive, low-carbon vehicles. It’s a convenient and affordable way of using an electric vehicle, without the expense and hassle of owning one.”
The vehicle is on loan from Derwent Valley Car Club which is based in Gateshead. It will be hosted at the Quaker Meeting House, near Booths, where a new electric vehicle (EV) charge point is due to be installed by Charge My Street – a community benefit society which installs and operates community EV charge points.
People can sign up to become a member of the car club for just £5 per month for individuals (£8.50 for a household). Hire charges will cost £5 per hour or £40 per day which includes insurance and ‘fuel’ – users simply plug the car in when they return it after use.
The car club is part of a wider project looking at rural energy resilience. The project will trial new charge point technology which allows a two-way flow of electricity from the building to the vehicle and vice versa.
The electricity used to charge the car will be generated by the solar panels on the roof of the Quaker Meeting House.
When it’s not in use, the vehicle will act as a storage device for any energy generated by the solar panels, which can either be fed back into the building, or utilised by the car club. The project will examine how the technology works and will quantify the benefits for the host as well as for the community.
Angela Wakefield, chair of Sustainable Keswick, said: “Car sharing is something we’ve been working on for a while now so we’re thrilled to have been given the chance to see if we can make a community car club work in Keswick.
“We’re hoping this will be of interest to people who don’t have regular access to a vehicle, those who are thinking about reducing the number of vehicles in their household or anybody who is thinking of going electric but wants to try before they buy.”
Members of Sustainable Keswick, supported by experts from Derwent Valley Car Club, will be on hand to answer your questions. The vehicle will also be available to view during the drop-in session.
If people can’t make it to the event, they can email [email protected] to find out how to become a member.
