FREE charging for electric vehicle at Time Square multi-storey car park has been axed.

Warrington Borough Council has confirmed that a new electric vehicle charging tariff is to be introduced at the town centre car park and Warrington West train station.

In May, newly appointed charge point operator ZEST installed 52 new 7kw electric vehicle charging bays at Time Square car park, while four 50kw rapid charging bays will be installed later in the summer, with a tariff of 65p per kWh.

There are 12 charging bays at 7kw at Warrington West car park, operated by BP Pulse.

In a statement, the council said: “We initially put in place a free charging policy at both these locations to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and show how easy they are to us.

“This has been kept in place for the past four years, but unfortunately, this is unsustainable going forward.

“A low 20p per kWh tariff will be introduced on the 7kw chargers from Monday, August 12.

“The council has worked closely with the charge point operators to keep the cost to users as low as possible, and the 20p per kWh tariff offers very good value for money.

“The four 50kw rapid charging bays to be installed later in the summer will have a tariff of 65p per kWh.

“As a comparison, the current electricity energy price cap for households is 22.36p per kWh, and the average cost of using a public slow/fast charger is currently around 56p per kWh.”

From August 12, you can access the charge points at Time Square by downloading the ZEST charging app and scanning the QR code of the charger.

If you would prefer not to set up an account or provide personal information, you can scan simply scan the QR code on the charger and enter your credit/debit card details to activate the charge.

A pre-authorisation fee of £20 will be in place for both of the above options.

At Warrington West, you can download the BP Pulse charging app and set up a £7.85 per month subscription.

This will give you access to a low 20p per kWh tariff, BP Pulse RFID card, a free month’s subscription, plus £45 credit over a five-month period.

You will receive an invoice monthly, paid for by direct debit, which you set up when registering.

If you prefer, you can use the app to set up pay as you go via credit or debit card. This will give you access to BP Pulse’s Pay as You Go rate, currently 59p per kWh.

Anyone with any queries about the new charging tariffs should email EV@Warrington.gov.uk