Member Article

Housing Hartlepool heighten Green Credentials

Housing Hartlepool is confirming its commitment to sustainability and the environment, by trialling an electric car for its Homecall Service.

As part of the Vela Group, Housing Hartlepool has already made extensive investment in improving their green credentials by installing solar electric and water panels, low energy light fittings, rain water harvesting and mechanical ventilation heat recovery units.

For the next six months Housing Hartlepool operatives will have the use of a Peugeot iOn electric car to allow them to perform routine monitoring and emergency call outs to elderly and vulnerable residents across the area. A partially grant funded charging post has also been installed to charge up the car.

After the trial period the community monitoring team will assess whether the vehicle has proved cost effective and a beneficial addition to its fleet in the future.

Becky Ferry, Environmental Sustainability Coordinator at the Vela Group, said: “We continually strive to increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues and to reduce Housing Hartlepool’s carbon footprint.

“It also is anticipated that the electric vehicle will be much more cost effective than a conventional vehicle.

“We are looking to replace one of the diesel run vans, which are currently used for routine monitoring and emergency call outs, with an electric vehicle and to potentially provide these vehicles as works pool cars for the company in the future.”

Housing Hartlepool were given the trial of the car through the Switch EV project, funded by the Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Program.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .