IT'S interesting to note South Lakeland District Council has secured funding from the taxpayer-funded organisation Innovate UK to "identify charging sites" for electrically powered vehicles (Gazette, October24, 'Car charging points are to be looked at').

This is just to identify the sites, not actually install the equipment, but the investigation will consume £187,640 over an 18-month period.

At the average British income of just less than £29,000 per annum that's enough to employ four people full time for the whole period with enough left over to employ someone to type the inevitable final report.

Before this not inconsiderable sum of taxpayers' money is spent, perhaps SLDC would care to tell us what the existing charging points cost and how frequently they are used.

I pass the four charging points adjacent to County Hall in Kendal almost daily and they hardly ever seem to be in use, though I have noticed the parking spaces surrounding them tend to be fully occupied with conventional petrol and diesel-powered cars when the car park is closed to the public and available only to council members during council meetings.

John Graham

Kendal