New electric fleet brings Cheshire East Council closer to carbon neutral target

Cheshire East Council is continuing to make progress towards its 2030 target to be carbon neutral as it unveils its new fleet of electric vehicles.

The council now has 22 electric vehicles, which includes six community enforcement vans. The range also includes tippers, used by the council’s street cleaning teams, tree surgeons and waste and recycling teams.

The conversion of the council’s fleet to electric vehicles is estimated to save around 130 tonnes CO2 each year. When the next phase of the fleet is electrified, including 40 grounds maintenance vehicles, a further 225 tonnes CO2 will be saved.

Cllr Heather Seddon, vice-chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said:

“This is a very important step in the council’s journey towards its net zero target. 

“These vehicles will reduce the negative impacts on air quality and I’m sure will be welcomed by our residents, as they are significantly quieter when working around our towns, parks and residential areas.” 

Cllr Sam Corcoran, Cheshire East Council’s environment and climate change member champion, said:

“It is very satisfying to see that the rollout of our electric fleet has gone so well.  

“This is great news for our wider work towards carbon neutrality, it’s also a very positive step in terms of the health benefits it brings and is better value to the council than equivalent diesel vehicles.” 

Cheshire East Council’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan  was approved in May 2020, and set out the actions the council needed to consider taking to reduce its emissions. The focus of that action plan was to reduce the council’s emissions by around 50 per cent and offset the remaining 50 per cent through energy generation, tree-planting and the purchase of green electricity. The council is now focusing less on offsetting and more on reducing its own emissions by electrifying its fleet vehicles and buildings.