Keswick Eco Car Club

Keswick Eco Car Club is part of a wider project looking at Rural Energy Resilience using V2X technology. V2X technology allows EVs to not only draw power from the grid but also send electricity back, turning vehicles into mobile energy storage units. The benefits are potentially huge: from balancing energy demand during peak periods to providing backup power for residents, homes and businesses. The technology is being trialled at 15 sites across Cumbria and the Northeast, with two sites (Keswick and Weardale) also trialling the integration of a car club.

Which organisations are involved in the project?

The project is a partnership between Charge My Street (CMS), a Community Benefit Society which installs and operates community EV charge points, and Derwent Valley Car Club (DVCC) who run a car share scheme based in Blackhall Mill, Gateshead. In Keswick, the project is supported by the Quaker Meeting House who are the site hosts, and Sustainable Keswick who are providing volunteers to run the car club. If the trial proves successful, we will work with DVCC to permanently establish a car club in Keswick.

Aim

The overall aim is to establish, a viable, environmentally sustainable, member-led car club for the benefit of the residents of Keswick.

Benefits

The Keswick Eco Car Club is designed to have several benefits to the community, namely:

  • It will provide a transport service to residents of Keswick who do not own their own vehicle.
  • It will incentivise residents to reduce the number of cars they own.
  • It will encourage the take up of electric cars.
  • It will reduce greenhouse gas/CO2 emissions.
  • It will reduce isolation and build closer community relationships within the town.
  • It will facilitate the installation of two new charge points at the Quaker Meeting House 

Frequently Asked Questions

Please download the attached FAQ document to find out more about how the scheme works.

Click here to download the FAQ document.

Latest news

In December 2024, Sustainable Keswick were successful in securing funding from
Cumbria Community Foundation through Cumberland Council’s UK Shared
Prosperity Fund to enable the purchase of the car club vehicle which has been on
loan for the project pilot phase. This is a key milestone for the project!


How to get in touch?
If you are interested in joining the car club, please email
keswickecocarclub@gmail.com