A new zero emission electric van is helping to cut the carbon paw print of the borough’s dog warden service.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s multi-award winning dog warden Laura Yeates has swapped her old diesel van for a more environmentally friendly zero-emission electric van.

Laura’s job involves travelling around the borough as she collects stray dogs from vets or people who have found them, makes journeys to and from kennels and reunites lost dogs with their owners. She also cooperates with other council teams to ensure the welfare of stray dogs and promote responsible dog ownership.

This includes working closely with the council’s Environmental Health team as well as its Community Safety Patrol Officers, who also recently swapped to using zero-emission electric cars and cut the council’s carbon footprint by six tonnes per year.

Laura said: “My work involves quite a bit of driving and so I’m delighted to now have a greener and more sustainable way to get around. This new van means I can do my job in a more environmentally friendly way and tackle local emissions.”

A recent study by researchers at the University of Lincoln found that dogs in electric vehicles were often more relaxed and less restless than dogs in diesel vehicles. The reduced vibration and road noise of electric vehicles was also found to reduce some dogs’ heart rates by up to 30%, which could help them to avoid travel sickness.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Action Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “A new electric van for our fantastic dog warden is the latest step in decarbonising our fleet, building on our 66% reduction in net emissions since our 2019 climate emergency declaration as we work towards achieving our target to be a carbon neutral council by 2025.”

To help residents to make the switch to an electric vehicle, the council is continuing to roll out electric vehicle chargers in its car parks across the borough.

This includes the recent installation of two 22 kilowatt dual fast chargers, capable of fully charging an electric car in two to five hours, at Anchor Road Car Park in Kingsclere. Each charger can connect to two vehicles at the same time for a total of four charging points.

To encourage sustainable travel to and from the council offices, a 22 kilowatt dual fast charger has also recently been installed for two visitors to use at once in the courtyard outside the Civic Offices in London Road.

For more information about electric vehicle charging points in the borough, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/vehicle-charging-point.