PLANS have been submitted for the first hyper hub in York - featuring solar panels and rapid charging points for electric vehicles.

The £1.5 million scheme to build two hubs - at Poppleton Bar and Monks Cross Park&Ride sites - were given the go ahead by councillors in April.

Under the proposals solar canopies would be installed at both car parks, with the energy they collect used to charge vehicles or stored in batteries.

A planning application has now been submitted for the solar canopy, five dual fast charging units and eight ultra rapid charging hubs at Poppleton Bar Park&Ride.

Solar panel canopies will also be built over some of the parking spaces.

A statement says: “York aspires to be at the forefront of electric vehicle (EV) charging that supports the use of next generation electric vehicles.

“The Hyper Hubs project seeks to provide next generation charging infrastructure that will support fleets, residents, through traffic and visitors to have the confidence to use electric vehicles.

“York also has a high proportion of terraced housing, particularly within the city centre, and the lack of off-street parking is a significant barrier to the uptake of Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (ULEVs) within these areas.

“Ultra Rapid Charger Hubs are the central infrastructure element of the Go Ultra Low York Programme which, by creating electric vehicle ultra rapid charging infrastructure at multiple locations in the York transport network, would facilitate greater uptake of ULEVs by providing next generation charging facilities for business users, residents and visitors, whilst also supporting residents without off street charging to easily charge an EV.”

It adds that the aspiration is to build several hyper hubs around the outer ring road with a higher number of rapid chargers than usually installed in similar projects.

Rapid chargers take less than an hour to charge electric vehicles. The new hub would be based at the current camper van parking area and camper van parking will be relocated.