Perthshire North MSP, Mr John Swinney has officially opened the new Taste Perthshire EV and Fuel Station.
The station, which is located at Taste Perthshire in Bankfoot, provides unmanned fuelling facilities in addition to multiple electric vehicle charging points. It is open to the public 24 hours a day and all year round.
The plans for the station were originally devised following the Scottish Government’s decision to dual the A9 and have been financed both by Taste Perthshire and the Energy Saving Trust, who provided funding for the EV chargers. Bank of Scotland also provided a six-figure funding package to support the project.
Commenting, Mr Swinney said:
“I was delighted to open this new station, which will make Taste Perthshire an even more appealing prospect both to locals and those travelling along the A9.
“I am hopeful that the new facilities will increase the number of visitors stopping at Taste Perthshire. Indeed, I am certain that many first-time visitors who are stopping solely to either fuel or charge their car will be very pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of food, gifts and services available.
“I am particularly pleased that such an effort has been made to secure EV charging points as part of the new station. We know that, in order to tackle the climate emergency, we must transition towards more sustainable ways of transport. Electric vehicles are an excellent way to do this and it is therefore vital that we make it as convenient as possible for car owners to switch to this type of vehicle.
“I would like to put on record my thanks to all those at Taste Perthshire for the opportunity to visit the new station, and offer my warm congratulations on expanding their facilities in such a significant way.”
Calum MacLellan, who owns Taste Perthshire with his wife, Jane MacLellan, added:
“Both Jane and I are delighted to see the last 18 months of work come to fruition with the opening of our new EV and Fuel Station. The new facility will benefit the whole operation here at Taste Perthshire through increased traffic which we hope to convert into foot fall within our Restaurant, Shops and our new Street Food Takeaway. Our exciting new Street Food Takeaway operation is housed within our Delicatessen and between this and the new EV and Fuel Station we have been able to employ 5 more full time staff from the local area.
“We are very grateful to the local community who have supported us with their custom since we opened the Station and would like to thank Mr John Swinney for coming to officially open the EV & Fuel Station for us today.”
Moira Robertson, Relationship Manager at Bank of Scotland, added:
“The switch to electric vehicles will play a huge part in creating a greener Scotland. But to make the transition a reality, it's imperative that we have the right infrastructure in place.
"The addition of the new fuel station and eight electric charging points at Taste Perthshire is a terrific step in the right direction and we're happy to have been able to support the business to realise its green ambitions.
"At Bank of Scotland, we'll continue to support firms like Taste Perthshire to introduce sustainable measures and reduce their carbon footprint as Scotland charts its path towards net zero."
