'On yer bike' - or e-bike

Civil enforcement officers in Newtown could soon be using e-bikes to reach parts of the town where there are congestion issues.

A pilot scheme to assess the use of the bikes by some Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board staff has already shown positive results, according to the council.

A small number of council and health board front-line staff have been supplied with e-bikes to assess their value. The e-bikes have been purchased from bike shops in Powys using funding from Welsh Government.
 
A number of staff have used the bikes around Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfalls. With parking problems, the enforcement officers have been able to reach problem spots.

Damian Perkins is Lead Civil Enforcement Officer with the council, said: "My colleagues have been able to park their cars in Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant and then cycle the last four miles, using the folding e-bikes, to the falls to check for inconsiderate parking. If they'd driven up, they too would have been stuck in the traffic but with e-bikes they can easily get through to the source of the problem.
 
""Our Officers are not there just to issue tickets, they often find themselves taking on an educational role. Educating drivers on inconsiderate parking often works as a preventative measure to ensure the safer flow of traffic,"

Councillor Heulwen Hulme is the council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways. She commented: "We are really grateful to the Welsh Government for this funding which is allowing us to investigate which roles within the council that e-bikes can prove useful to staff in their day-to-day work."
 
"We've recently introduced our first electric refuse lorry and with initiatives like this we can help to reduce our carbon footprint, "added Cllr. Hulme.