PRUDHOE Town Council has agreed to explore the cost of installing an electric car charging point in the town.

Vice-chairman Coun. Gerry Price said the town had fallen behind in environmental terms.

Coun. Price said: “We’ve fallen behind in this town on the installation of a charging system.

“We need to find out the cost and decide if we want a normal charger or a fast charger.

“Most people would want a fast charger and we have to look at where would be a most convenient point of we were to agree that it would be an asset to the town.”

Coun. Bryan Futers agreed, but urged caution due to changing technology.

He added: “We should have a charging point, but we have to be careful.

“Some can take half a day to charge, some can take around eight minutes, but cars can’t connect to them. It could be two years before we have cars that can use these charging points. We have to do it, but we have to do it right.”

The council agreed to look into the cost, and ask neighbouring town councils about their experiences installing car charging points.

County Councillor Gordon Stewart added that Northumberland County Council would also be installing a car charging point in the town, with the railway station being the most likely location.