People in Milton Keynes will soon be able to hire an electric car by the HOUR at two new community hubs

The hubs, planned for Stony Stratford and Central Milton Keynes will both host a community electric vehicle car club that will be operated by Enterprise Car Club.

They will provide electric vehicles, based at each hub, that can be rented by the hour or day, with 24/7 access 365 days of the year.

And by early 2022, the state-of-the-art hubs will even have wireless charging points, to avoid the need for plug in cables.

An MK Council spokesman said: "There will be the opportunity to experience wireless charging, which avoids the need to handle cables as in conventional plug-in charging. A number of cars will be fitted with wireless charging equipment and a wireless charging point will be set up at the community hubs."

Work on the two new hubs will start shortly. They are part of the Milton Keynes Go Ultra Low City Scheme (GULCS), which is funded by the newly renamed Office for Zero Emission Vehicles .

The GULCS has already created the successful Electric Vehicle Experience Center that provides independent help and advice to residents and businesses who are interested in electric vehicles.

The community hubs have been designed to provide facilities for electric vehicles owners / users who do not have dedicated off-street parking. Each hub will provide several 7kW charge posts where vehicles can be charged over several hours, the hubs will also include some 50kW rapid chargers for use by those who want to obtain a charge over a shorter period.

BP Pulse charge posts at the hubs will be familiar to drivers who already charge in Milton Keynes. The posts will be available for all electric vehicle drivers and will complement the existing Milton Keynes Council scheme.

Stony Stratford's Community Hub will be located within the Cofferidge Close car park. The existing 50 kW rapid charger at this site will be replaced when the new hub is created by the installation of two new rapid chargers. The hub will also see the installation of five new 7 kW fast charge posts, each of which will support the charging of two vehicles.

Central Milton Keynes Community Hub will be within the car park spaces at the intersection of Silbury Boulevard and Saxon Gate. The two existing 50 kW rapid chargers at this location will be replaced with three new rapid chargers. The hub will also see the installation of three new 7 kW fast charge posts.

Meanwhile Enterprise and MK Council are planning to deploy more green car club vehicles around the town in the upcoming months, and the council is now consulting on potential vehicle locations.

Milton Keynes is home to one of the largest and modern estates of electric charging facilities in the country.