East Anglia Press Releases for the Norfolk & Suffolk Broads with Press Releases and Articles from the Broads Authority in East Anglia, and the East of England UK.

The Broads Authority has doubled the number of electric charging points throughout the northern and southern rivers to enable electric boats to venture further afield.

The £34,000 Southern Power Link Project has enabled the Authority to add eight new charging points to the Broads, bringing the total number to 17, extending the network into the Waveney Valley for the first time.

The project is funded by the Broads and Rivers LEADER+ programme with money from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Defra, The East of England Development Agency (EEDA), local authorities and the Broads Authority.

Waterways Manager Trudi Wakelin said: "It is hoped that these new sites will give confidence to cruisers wishing to travel further afield. Craft are now able to cruise from our existing services at the heads of navigation on the Bure, Ant and Thurne right through Gt Yarmouth, upstream to St Olaves on the Waveney, Loddon on the River Chet and to the Yacht Station at Norwich, stopping to recharge at pleasant riverside villages along the way.

The extra charging points will have the dual purpose of enabling diesel powered boats to top up their electricity supply for on-board domestic items without having to run engines in the early hours or during the evening, thus encouraging peaceful moorings."

The charging pillars are operated by a £1 payment card which can be bought from 20 outlets throughout the Broads.

Electric charging points can be found at Stalham, Hickling, Potter Heigham, Ludham Bridge, Coltishall, Hoveton, Horning, Ranworth, Stokesby, Burgh Castle, St Olaves, Reedham, Loddon, Rockland Broad, Bramerton and Norwich. The Broads Authority will be installing an extra charging point at Great Yarmouth shortly.

A new leaflet with maps locating the charging points and listing the card outlets is available from the Broads Authority's head office at 18 Colegate, Norwich, tel 01603 610734, its tourist information centres at Hoveton, Potter Heigham, How Hill, Ranworth, Beccles, and Loddon, and from the outlets selling the cards.

Electric boating is a clean, quiet method of propulsion which is being encouraged by the Broads Authority. The Broads Society is offering grants to private boat owners to convert diesel and petrol engines to electric, which are financed by the Broads Authority's Sustainable Development Fund and the Broads and Rivers LEADER+ programme.

Reproduced by kind permission of Broads Authority.