Victorian country house joins electric car charging network.
It won’t be the sort of thing you’ll read in a Dickens novel, but it seems that even Victorian classics are climbing aboard the electric revolution these days, as an old mansion in Morpeth becomes the first country house in the region to install an electric car charging point.
The Victorians were known for their great inventions like the electric bulb and the period saw electricity become a household commodity for the first time. In that time, Cragside house became the first in the to be lit by hydroelectric power. Now the house, famous for its pioneering renewable energy use is once again at the forefront in boosting its electric credentials.
The Victorian mansion will now serve as a connector in the region’s EV network, which stretches from the region’s southernmost tip in Tees Valley right up to Berwick in the North with over 200 points in between.
The charger will be installed by One North East’s ‘Charge Your Car’ team, which is aiming to make the North East the home of an advanced electric-vehicle charging network.
Businesses, visitor attractions, retail outlets, garages and historic sites have been asked to help provide the spark for the project by housing the electric vehicle chargers, helping to combat so-called ‘range anxiety’ in drivers using electric vehicles.
By installing them in strategic locations, it is hoped EV drivers will feel comfortable in travelling in and around the North East, safe in the reassurance that they can top up their batteries when needed.
Justine James, Customer Development Manager at Cragside said: “Lord Armstrong would have been fascinated by this latest development in renewable energy deployment, and would have heartily approved of our involvement. It also seemed particularly appropriate to be a part of the charging network in this region, as the electric vehicles are being made in Sunderland.
“On a practical level, I appreciate that Cragside is a large and rugged rural estate and, any facility that helps our visitors enjoy the wider woodlands has got to be a good idea!”
This infrastructure work is part of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) ‘Plugged-In Places’ initiative, which is helping to establish electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in key strategic locations around the UK.
The North East fund of £7.8m has been funded with £2.9m from OLEV, £3.8m from One North East and just over £1m from regional partners.
