A PLANNING permission has been submitted to provide Weston bus depot with infrastructure to charge electric vehicles.

Plans would see electric infrastructure and electric vehicle charging works taking place at the bus depot operated by First West of England on Warne Road for both buses and cars.

If approved, these plans would provide the required infrastructure to charge a full fleet of electric buses on the site.

A document from Janus Architecture said: “This application is for proposed works to the current Weston-super-Mare Bus Depot which is operated by First West of England.

“The application is for electric infrastructure and electric vehicle charging works at the current bus depot for both bus and car vehicles.

“The proposal includes a new point of connection to the local power network, housed in a new Distribution Network Operator’s (DNO) Ring Main Unit (RMU).

“This will be located near the northern boundary of the site and to the west of the proposed car charging bays inside the site entrance, in an area currently used for bus parking.”

The document also read: “The site is currently an operational First Bus Depot with a depot building located to the SE of the site and bus parking located to the western half of the site.

“The existing bus washing and fuelling facilities will remain in place and be unaltered as part of these works.

“A dedicated area for four car charging bays in the NE corner of the site adjacent to the site entrance is to be provided.”

North Somerset Council has successfully bid for £15 million of new funding for greener buses across the region.

The council will receive £12.8 million from First Bus for investment in Weston-super-Mare's depot and services, with an additional £2.1 million in capital funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).

The Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding will provide 24 brand-new electric buses for the X1 and X4 services.

This investment also includes electric vehicle charging stations at the Weston-super-Mare bus depot.