The resilience officer at Frome Town Council has responded to news that the government is cutting grants to those buying electric cars, saying it makes no sense.

The Department for Transport is reducing the grant from £3,000 to £2,500 and is further restricting the payment to only those vehicles which cost under £35,000.

Nikki Brain, FTC's Resilience Officer said: " The decision to cut grants makes no sense given the government's commitment to banning the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030.

"The cost of an electric vehicle, while decreasing, is still much higher than that of a petrol or diesel car. The government should be doing all it can to support car users to transition to fully electric vehicles, alongside investment in walking and cycling infrastructure and improving public transport.

" On-road emissions account for 27% of Frome's carbon footprint, so moving away from petrol and diesel vehicles is crucial both for the climate and for the health of our residents."

In announcing the decision today (March 18) the Department of Transport stated: "The number of electric car models priced under £35,000 has increased by almost 50% since 2019 and more than half the models currently on the market will still be eligible for the grant."

The government reported that 11% of new cars sold in 2020 now have an electric plug - up from just over 3% in 2019 – and battery electric car sales almost tripled over that same period.

Frome Town Council is formally committed to cutting emissions across the town and investing in renewable and low-carbon-footprint energies. It has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

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The town currently has three electric charging points for electric vehicles : At Commerce Park, at the back of the Town Hall and at Frome Medical Practice.

There is also one at the YMCA which is being fixed and will be up and running shortly.

The national plug-in vehicle grant scheme was renewed last year, with £582 million of funding intended to last until 2022 to 2023.