A town is set to get electric charging points in a bid to drive people to switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric.

Marlow is believed to be one of the first towns in south Bucks to get on-street charging points, which will be installed in The Causeway in the next couple of weeks.

Mark Averill, head of highways at Bucks County Council, said at a meeting of the Marlow Chamber of Trade and Commerce this week that the Government was providing funding to local authorities to install electric charging points in residential roads to encourage more people to change their petrol and diesel cars to electric or plug-in hybrids.

He said three new charging points would be trialled in the two-hour restricted bays in The Causeway, with more being rolled out across the town by late autumn if the pilot is successful.

But members were worried the move would take away parking spaces in the town, which has been plagued by parking problems for years.

One member said: “We just don’t have enough street parking and yet you’re taking more away. I live in the centre of Marlow and I have to park in the centre of Marlow, and I know how difficult it is.”

She questioned why more charging points could not be put into off-street car parks, with Mr Averill explaining it was because the council had found car parks which have electric charging points are often left with empty bays where petrol and diesel cars are unable to park.

Another member said: “How can you justify removing valuable parking spaces from the town which will be reserved for people with electric vehicles. Where will the other vehicles go?”

Mr Averill said while he did not want to put any restrictions on the bays in The Causeway, the county council would look at how often the charging points were being used, adding: “I’m aware The Causeway is difficult to park in. I don’t want to put any restrictions on the bays but let’s see what happens.”

The charging points will have 32amp plugs and will not be rapid chargers, giving around 56 miles from a two-hour charge, and users will pay for the electricity used via a mobile app or something similar.

There will also be a locking mechanism to stop plugs being taken out when cars are being charged.

Speaking after the meeting, town mayor Jocelyn Towns said: “We welcome the initiative run by TfB (Transport for Bucks) to gather data on the number of potential users of electric charging points in Marlow; we’re in favour of any move to protect our environment.

“This pilot will only affect a handful of spaces for a limited period; it’s not yet clear if parking restrictions will be needed to protect the allocated spaces.”