OWNERS of electric vehicles in the Borders could soon have to pay to charge their vehicle, it has been revealed.

Selkirkshire councillor Gordon Edgar, the council’s executive member for infrastructure, travel and transport, told a meeting last week that an upcoming report will recommend the local authority charges for the service.

The plans could be put to elected officials as early as January, according to Mr Edgar.

Responding to an open question from Hawick representative Davie Paterson on the issue, the independent councillor said: “A condition of earlier Transport Scotland grant funding for electric vehicle charging points was that they were free at the point to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.

“This condition has now been removed and Scottish Borders Council, like other local authorities, should be considering introducing a charging regime.”

He added: “A report on the issue is currently being prepared and will recommend that the council introduces a charging regime going forward.”

Mr Edgar told the meeting that the total cost to the council for the charging points last year was £33,296.

Meanwhile, Borders MP John Lamont says that an out of order charging point at Tweedbank Railway Station is “not helping” people in the Borders use electric vehicles.

Figures from the Department for Transport show that there are a total of 51 electric vehicle charging devices available for public use in the region.

But Mr Lamont, Conservative MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, says the station charger has been out of action for two months.

“I am keen to see electric vehicle use become more practical for people in the Scottish Borders,” he said. “However, cases like the broken charging point at Tweedbank Station are not helping.

“We need to make sure we have a fully-functioning electric vehicle charging network. That is why I have written to Scottish Borders Council to try and get the charging point fixed as quickly as possible.

“As we continue to increase the number of EV charging points here in the Borders, we must ensure that they are well maintained.”

The Borders is set to benefit from £187,272 of UK Government funding to support the development of electric vehicle charging points, according to Mr Lamont.

On the funding, he said: “I am very pleased that almost £200,000 of funding will go towards the expansion of our EV charging point network as part of the UK’s community renewal fund.

“I also appreciate that Scottish Borders Council will be taking on the responsibility of looking after them.”