The National Giving Team and Parish Buying are looking for 30 churches to take part in an Electric Vehicle Charging Point Pilot, before expanding to a national offer. Do you know churches which might be suitable and want to take part?
The costs of installing and maintaining the units are entirely undertaken by the Charge Point Providers and the church would receive ground rent for (in most cases) twenty years. It’s likely additional lighting and security measures would also be installed.
The Giving Team are looking for churches to fill in the Electric Vehicle Charging Point Pilot - Expression of Interest Form. This asks for information regarding a potential site (e.g. a car park) where charging points could be installed using between 2 and 40 car park spaces. There are a number of different Charge Point Providers in the pilot and each are looking for different qualities for the sites, so we are looking for churches from a wide range of backgrounds, locations, and facilities. What we require however are churches that:
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Are passionate about installing a charge point
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Have some land or a car park they are willing to use for charge points on a long term lease
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Are willing to work with the Charge Point Provider, The National Giving Team, and Parish Buying to ensure that the process works well
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Have broad acceptance from the PCC to explore these sorts of opportunities
In short, a church that has a positive culture around partnering with external organisations.
The form itself gives useful background information, but any questions to David Stout, who is one of the Regional Giving Advisors. If a church fills in the EOI they are simply doing that. There is no contract or binding agreement until much later down the line. Equally, they are not guaranteed charge points as interest in the pilot may be high, and/or they may not be suitable.
Let the Communications team know if you decide to embark on this poilet scheme. We'd love to share your experence with others in the diocese.