First things first, there are no trial charging points in the Heswall district, but if you're fortunate enough to own an electric vehicle and are out and about in places like Hoylake, Wallasey and Woodchurch, then news of this initiative might well be of interest.

More than 40 on-street electric vehicle charging points are available for use as a pilot scheme to encourage motorists to explore a 'greener' way to travel goes live.

The new charging points have been installed around the borough, to make it easier for EV owners to stay charged up and encourage more people to consider moving away from petrol and diesel.

Wirral council committed to reducing the borough's carbon emissions when it declared climate emergency in 2019 and the charging points, installed as part of a £100,000 scheme, will help to provide the greener network that residents need to reduce their emissions too.

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport committee for Wirral Council, said: "While electric vehicles are not the primary solution to climate emergency issues, it is important that we do what we can to encourage those who have to travel by car to do so without causing as much air pollution or GHG emissions - this pilot project takes us a step closer in that regard. A big part of our climate emergency action plan is to work towards a future with far more active travel and better public transport."

The installation of this first set of chargers has been funded by a grant from OZEV – the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles, formerly known as OLEV - and Wirral Council. All future electric vehicle charging schemes will be subject to securing funding.

Electric vehicle charging points will be free for the first 12 months (from October 2021 – October 2022).

There is a 'traffic light' system on the front of the charging point. The top button is a system check and should be steady green. This means that the charging point is ready to use. If it is red, there is a fault that must be reported.

Once plugged in, press the middle button 'stop/start' to start charging. The bottom button tells you your charge status. Once your charge is complete, press the middle button 'stop/start' again and unplug your vehicle from the charging point.

Where are they?

- Ackers Road, Woodchurch

- Cable Road, Hoylake

- Chapel Road, Hoylake

- Elm Road, Birkenhead

- Ganneys Meadow, Woodchurch

- Palantine Road, Bromborough

- Sandringham Avenue, Hoylake

- The Kings Gap, Hoylake

- Waverley Road, Hoylake

The locations of the units have been chosen based on a survey carried out in 2019 that asked residents where they would most like to see electric vehicle charging points.

Incidentally, for all the latest news about electric vehicles, please visit the Heswall Nub News' Motors section, written by electrifying expert Ginny Buckley.