Builders 'encouraged' to add electric car hire schemes

The Enterprise Car Club in Colchester was established in 2022

Developers are being encouraged to include electric car hire schemes when it comes to building new housing developments, a city councillor says.

Air quality levels in the Colchester city centre last year were deemed to be too high by the council.

The authority now offers an electric car hire scheme, run by Enterprise which also operates six others in Essex.

“Developers are coming round to the fact that people want this,” councillor Andrea Luxford Vaughan said.

‘Do our bit’

The Enterprise Car Club has been running in the city centre since 2022, when it was launched with the backing of government funding.

Members pay a rate of £6 an hour to hire a vehicle, as well as a subscription charge.

"It just suits the way we live," said user Andy Burlinson, who has been a member of the club from the beginning.

"Everyone owning cars isn’t great, so it’s good to do our bit just to try and cut that down where possible."

Andy Burlinson has used car club schemes in Colchester for more than a decade

Andrea Luxford Vaughan says house builders will be encouraged to include electric car hire schemes as part of new developments

"We start in the city centre because that’s where you find customers, and residents don’t need to own a vehicle because the public transport system is nicely built up," said Dan Gursel, director of Enterprise Car Club.

"For those families that have two cars, this could be a great alternative to say actually, I’ll get rid of that [second] one and use the car club."

The Enterprise Car Club has 132 members in its Colchester club, and nearly 900 across its seven Essex schemes in total.

‘Significant problem’

The scheme, which operates out of Priory Street car park, has now expanded into one of Colchester’s residential areas, with the council planning additional vehicles and locations in the future.

Ms Luxford Vaughan, portfolio holder for planning, environment and sustainability, said as new properties were constructed, developers needed to do their bit to help improve air quality.

"We’ve got a significant problem with air pollution," she told the BBC.

"You can’t knock all the buildings down and let the air percolate.

"The only way you can solve it is by re-educating people but also encouraging them to take a healthier option.

“We’ll definitely encourage them [housing developers]. We can say ‘this is part of policy’ - it’s something we are doing in new developments where we have that control.”

Colchester's city centre has "a significant problem with air pollution", according to the city's council