A £25,000 grant has been secured to fund a research project into council vehicles going electric.

The grant, secured by Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council, has been provided by the Midlands Net Zero Hub to help the councils in meeting their net zero goals.

The evaluation will examine whether the depot at Warndon, which houses council vehicles, can be fully electrified.

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Councillor Karen Lewing, chair of the city council’s environment committee said: "We are grateful to Midlands Net Zero Hub for supporting our aim of having a fully electric vehicle fleet, supporting the aims of our Environmental Sustainability Strategy.

“The City Council has already carried out trials with electric-powered waste collection lorries, and although the technology isn’t up to the standard we require yet, advances in this field are so rapid that we are confident it will be in a very few years.”

The city council has committed £40,000 to the research, while the county council is investing £7,000.

The study will also look into electrifying other smaller depot sites at Perdiswell, St Martin’s Gate, Cripplegate Park and Astwood Crematorium, as committed in the city council's environmental sustainability strategy.

The feasibility study will commence soon, with completion due before July 31.