Falkirk Council: Go ahead for council to spend £2m on electric vehicles

Members of Falkirk Council executive approved the spending at a meeting on Tuesday, when members heard the money would pay for around 38 vehicles and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1000 tonnes every year.

The budget had already been approved for future spending in 2025/26 but the director of place services, Malcolm Bennie, asked councillors for permission to accelerate things.

Mr Bennie told councillors that manufacturers have committed to supply the vehicles before the end of the financial year.

The switch will also move the council closer to the Scottish Government expectation that all light commercial vehicles using diesel or petrol will be phased out by 2025.

Mr Bennie said: “I think it’s a really positive step.”

He said he had brought forward the investment after the last meeting of the executive, when he felt it was clear that reducing carbon emissions was a major priority for councillors.

“This is an opportunity that’s come to us and I definitely recommend it’s one we get on with and start making progress with,” he said.

Councillor Iain Sinclair, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson on climate change, thanked the service for identifying the change and said he hoped it would make “a good impact on our climate change ambitions”.

“It’s the first step of many, I hope,” he added.

Labour councillor Alan Nimmo said that the question of what would happen if the council did not spend the money needed to be asked.

He said: “It certainly doesn’t look good from a public point of view, if we’re seen to be spending all that money on vehicles when there is people out there who can’t afford to turn their heating on or feed themselves.”

Mr Bennie replied: “The council has a legislative requirement to ensure that its fleet is decarbonised by 2025 for light commercial vehicles – so we have to do it.”

He also pointed out that the money was capital investment so it would not be possible to redirect it to people to help with the cost of living.

Mr Bennie added: “I appreciate the point you’re making but I think that as a council we have many priorities and making an early impact on the climate emergency is one that I recommend we get on with and do.”

The meeting also heard that there are currently enough charging points for the vehicles but the next phase of upgrading the fleet would also require investing in charging infrastructure.

It is two years since Falkirk Council opened what was Scotland’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging station.

The £1.4million facility at Falkirk Stadium has capacity for 26 vehicles

It generates over 30 per cent of the required electricity to power the facility from its own solar canopy made up by 1272 panels covering an area of over 2000sqm, saving 75 tonnes of carbon per year.

At the time it brought the number of EV charging bays in the Falkirk and Grangemouth area to 68, an increase of almost 70 per cent.