South Holland and The Deepings MP is leading calls for a new design for electric car charging points

Our area’s MP has been leading calls for a new design to be established for electric car charging points that makes them as iconic as the old red telephone boxes.

Sir John Hayes had proposed a design competition when he was transport minister and believes it’s important that charging points are instantly recognisable and attractive features of cities, towns and villages.

The Department for Transport has now advertised a £200,000 contract to secure a design team for the project.

Sir John’s passion for the idea meant that Labour MP Karl Turner even suggested that the facilities should be known as ‘Hayes hooks’ after the South Holland and the Deepings MP.

That would follow a precedent set when former transport minister Leslie Hore-Belisha gave his name to the ‘beacons’ next to pedestrian crossings.

Sir John said: “I don’t mind having them named after me - I would be honoured and flattered.”

Sir John said it was important that the charging points - used by drivers to top up their battery life - enhance any street scene and would be as suitable to Spalding or Long Sutton as anywhere else in the country.

He pointed to the example of the Gilbert Scott red phone box and pillar boxes as two examples from the past that demonstrate how this can be done.

Officials from the government’s ‘Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles’ want the successful bidder for its design contract to develop an ‘iconic, functional public electric vehicle charge point’.

Sir John added: “They are doing what I called for.

“We want to end up with charging points that are recognisable and attractive - we don’t want something that’s a monstrosity. It’s got to look good wherever it is - including in a small town or village.

“We have got a long history of thinking about how we can make things that do a job but that also enhance the area rather than detract from it.

“Let’s see what people can come up with.”

There are said to be more than half a million plug-in vehicles on the roads in the UK - including hybrids and pure electric models.

The government intends to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030.