£4m grants plan to help Wolverhampton taxi drivers buy electric vehicles

Wolverhampton Council has bid for the money to fund environmental measures, which would benefit both the city and the rest of the Black Country.

The scheme would provide 100 electric vehicle grants to help taxi drivers and small and medium businesses buy electric vehicles as well as providing 100 workplace grants to help businesses with the cost of installing charge points.

The funding would also provide two rapid charging hubs for electric vehicles across the Black Country and help raise public awareness of green transport.

Other cash bids are being made for a project to improve 126 hectares of green space linked by the canal and river network.

If successful, the funding would cover work including tree thinning, woodland and wildflower meadow creation, pond improvements, better access and native species planting at Fowlers Park, Ward Street and Pendeford Park as well as other environmental improvements across the Black Country.

Important

Wolverhampton Council has applied for funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the projectsto encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, improve green spaces and improve the heating efficiency of council buildings. If successful, the bids will see the council receive up to £3.9 million of funding to help support its climate change commitment.

Other ERDF bids include applying for funding of £1.7 million for the second phase of Black Country Blue Network on the canal network, a bid in a partnership between Wolverhampton Council, Walsall Council, Environment Agency, Canal and River Trust and The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country.

Councillor Louise Miles, cabinet member for resources at Wolverhampton Council, said the money would make a real difference that people living in the region would notice.

She said: “These are some very important bids which, if successful, will all support projects that are focussed on making our city and wider region a cleaner and greener place to live.

“The funding will be used to work with colleagues in neighbouring authorities to meet our climate change commitment.

“In addition, the bid for the WISE project will help the council to reduce its energy consumption and greenhouse gases. This will help support our commitment to make the City of Wolverhampton Council carbon-neutral by 2028.”

At its next meeting on Wednesday(July 29) members of the city council’s cabinet resources panel committee are being recommended to approve the council entering into grant funding agreements if the bids are successful.