The council operates a fleet of 33 vans and one car, and will now purchase electric vans and cars unless there are “significant business reasons” why this is not appropriate.

The move came after the council commissioned a ‘Plugged in Fleets Initiative’ (PIFI) report from the Energy Savings Trust in 2014, which found there are electric vans available that fit in with the current vehicle use patterns and concluded that a switch to them would save money and emissions as well as enhancing CDC’s image as a “progressive authority with strong fiscal management”.

The report also looked at the council’s grey fleet users and identified potential EV pool car alternatives that could save up to £590 per pool car over five years.

A council spokesperson said: “We are committed to introducing electric vehicles in our fleet wherever possible on a case by case basis. The council has agreed that when a vehicle comes up for replacement we will look at the business case to see whether it can be replaced with an electric vehicle. At the moment we are looking at the business case to replace a van in our car parks team.

“Electric vehicles are ideal for regular daily journeys. Many councils and businesses have vans that are used for these types of journeys and so switching to electric vehicles will save money over their lifetime.

“We know that the technology is very reliable, and is always developing. Service, maintenance and repairs are easier than for conventionally fuelled vehicles. By converting to electric technology we will be saving money as well as reducing our emissions."