FOUR new electric vehicle charging points are coming to Halstead after plans being in the works for more than three years.

A lease has been signed by the town council for the installation of the charging points in Chapel Street Car Park, just off of the High Street.

The council has said it is delighted to get the plans pushed through, with the idea first sparking in 2019.

The only charging points for electric vehicles in the town are at the MOT Services and next to the leisure centre.

A spokesman said: “This has been a long time coming, as we first started working on the idea in 2019.

“Covid then hit and took us a long time working with the Land Registry to get the car park registered in our name even though it had belonged to the council for many years.

“After exploring every possible way of providing EV charging in Halstead, we eventually came to an agreement with Instavolt, who will install and maintain the charging points, and have a 20-year lease with us.

“The EV points will be at the far end of the car park near the river, away from the areas where people refer to park.

“Those charging their vehicles will not need to pay for using the car park, but will of course pay for the electricity they use, to Instavolt.

“They will be asked to move their vehicle once charging has finished.”

The town council also said it has plans for the installation of other electric vehicle charging points elsewhere in the town, in order to encourage electric vehicle owners to come to Halstead.