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In 2019 Soham Town Council declared a climate emergency and began a journey towards lowering its impact on the planet.
Having taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint and lower energy consumption through loft insulation at the council offices, the latest step taken by Soham Town Council has been to introduce an electric van for use by its grounds team. The team has recently expanded to take on an additional grounds person and rather than get a traditional petrol or diesel vehicle, the Town Council have taken the bold step to go electric.
Decorated in a new livery, this vehicle will not only enable the team to meet the growing workload, but it will do so in a way that does not increase the pollution that comes with a standard internal combustion engine.
After a short study into the merits and cost of a new vehicle, Councillors voted in favour of the proposal to lease an electric van. The van will be used by the team to travel around Soham as part of the work to keep our town in the best possible condition. It will be recharged overnight so it is ready to go the next day.
Mayor of Soham, Councillor David Woricker said proudly, “It is important to us that Soham Town Council doesn’t just simply declare a climate emergency and then do nothing to challenge ourselves to push green initiatives. We are committed to looking at all our responsibilities as a local council and asking what we can do to reduce, and ideally reverse, negative impacts on our environment. We firmly believe that Soham can go green and save money at the same time with wise, considered investments like this”.