ELECTRIC car charging is to be installed at a motorway service station.

Knutsford Services on the M6 northbound will soon be home to 24 new charging bays after plans were approved by Cheshire East Council.

The project is being carried out by sustainable energy company GRIDSERVE and will help towards the Government target of having at least six high-powered EV chargers at every motorway service area in England.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “GRIDSERVE develop, build, own and operate dependable, low-cost, clean energy solutions for critical power infrastructure.

“To help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible GRIDSERVE deliver net zero carbon solutions for power and transportation which are designed to be better and less expensive than legacy solutions.

“To facilitate this transition to electric vehicles, GRIDSERVE is implementing and building a network of high-power chargers across the country that will provide UK motorists with fast, easy and low-carbon charging solutions.

“GRIDSERVE is delivering electric hubs at strategic locations across the UK and 2023 saw a significant increase in these sites becoming operational.”

Half of the charging bays will be TeslaHalf of the charging bays will be Tesla (Image: Pixabay)

The new hub will feature 12 electric vehicle charging bays along with a Tesla Charging Station, also comprising of 12 bays.

Both of these will be situated in the main car parking area, taking the place of existing parking spaces.

Two of the bays will be oversized, providing users with additional space to manoeuvre, while there will be one disabled charging bay at the Tesla Charging Station.

Cheshire East Council’s planning department formally greenlit the plans at the start of June.

This decision comes after the council passed a motion in May 2019 declaring a climate emergency.

In the same month, a target was set for the council to become carbon neutral by 2025.

Then, in January 2022, the council made a further pledge to make the borough as a whole carbon neutral by 2025.

Recommending the plans be approved, case officer Melissa Martin said the project would help 'facilitate sustainable transport and in turn, reduce carbon emissions to help reduce the impacts of climate change'.

Concluding, she wrote: “It is considered the proposal is a sustainable development that complies with development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework and is therefore recommended for approval subject to conditions.”