Join our electric car club

 

We are the first community in the North West to have our own all-electric Nissan Leaf zero emission vehicle – recently voted World car of the Year. It has an impressive performance with high equipment specification (including 5 seats, satnav, a/c and MP3 socket) and covers 85-105 miles on one charge. The vehicle also has top safety ratings. Anyone in the village with a clean driving licence* aged 18 and over can hire this fantastic car for short periods by booking over the internet or by phone. Current hire costs are £4.25 an hour plus 5p per mile (no fuel charges) with no annual membership fees. We are reviewing the costs based on feedback from members.

To ensure we run a professional service, Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral has teamed up with the Commonwheels social enterprise company to provide a state-of-the-art online/phone booking and car management system that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When you join up as a Commonwheels club member you can book our Nissan Leaf or any other vehicle in the fast-growing Commonwheels hire network – which currently covers 18 locations in the UK. The car is housed next to the garage and charge point at our Low Carbon Pavilion at the new recreation ground**.

All club members approved by Commonwheels will receive a personal smart card that gives them access to the vehicle for the hire period. You simply unplug the charger from the vehicle before driving off, and plug it back in again when you return or need to top up the charge. Charging is via our Podpoint alongside the pavilion (which also has a spare charging socket for visiting electric vehicle drivers who are members of the Podpoint Network).

Our aim is to use the surplus cash made from running the car and PV to support the running of the Pavilion and equipment and fund other sustainable developments in the community. Everyone wishing to use the car will be given an overview of the vehicle by a member of the Going Carbon Neutral Team who will also be happy to answer your questions.

*For all conditions and to join the club visit the Commonwheels website or call 0845 602 8030

**The car and building (and new school PV arrays) have been funded by a £400,000 Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) grant awarded to the Parish Council in 2010 (The Going Carbon Neutral Project was selected as one of 22 communities to receive DECC's Low Carbon Communities Challenge funding