Swindon Borough Council is expecting to have to make some steep changes to the town in order to meet the government's plan to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

As more and more householders turn to electric vehicles in the lead up to this ban, the council has asked for the people of Swindon to share their thoughts, particularly when it comes to electric vehicle charging points to make it easier for people to switch to greener transport.

Plans drawn up by the council indicate that their goal for expanding the electric vehicle charging point infrastructure in the borough is to support the growth of low-emission, low-polluting, vehicle usage and ownership as it is a major way local authorities can help combat pollution and climate change.

The council added that without the infrastructure to charge vehicles, residents, visitors and employees in the borough will lack the confidence to invest in an electric vehicle.

Over the past five years (2014 - 2019) registrations for battery only electric vehicles and plug in hybrid vehicles have increased in Swindon year by year, going from under 1,000 in 2014 to just over 5,000 in 2019. This number is predicted to rise considerably by 2030.

Forecasts by Regen - a not-for-profit centre of energy expertise and market insight - suggest that by 2030, Swindon could have around 56,000 electric vehicles in the borough.

However, this sharp rise in householders turning to electric vehicles is set to present a headache for the council as research by The Field Dynamics suggests that 32% of households in Swindon have no garage, nor off-road parking, and therefore no ability to charge an electric vehicle from home.

Consequently Swindon needs to increase its provision of publicly available charging points if it wants to encourage people in the town to switch from petrol and diesel to electric.

There are many avenues the council is looking to explore to increase the number of charging points in the town, with home charging, on-street charging, lamp column charging and wireless charging all being considered.

At the moment the cost of installing a dedicated electric vehicle charging point into your driveway or garage is around £450, although the government is providing a grant of up to £350.