A Nissan dealership in County Tyrone has supplied a Townstar electric van to a local community services organisation who say it’s perfect for their needs.
The compact LCV, obtained via Pat Kirk Nissan in Omagh, is being used by the team at Strabane and District Caring Services (SDCS) to deliver meals on wheels to vulnerable members of the local community. It’s been purchased thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The new meal delivery service started this week, and Chris McDaid, community development officer at SDCS, said the Townstar will prove perfect for the job.
He explained: ‘‘A little while ago now, we made an application for lottery funding to provide a meals-on-wheels service to Strabane and the surrounding area.
‘‘We spoke to Pat Kirk Nissan about the possibility of buying a hybrid model to begin with, conscious of the environmental impact of the programme. Then the National Lottery Community Fund came back to us and encouraged us to consider using a full electric vehicle.
‘‘Thankfully we were then able to revise our application to cover both the cost of the vehicle and the installation of the necessary charging infrastructure onsite, which was great news for us.’’
He added: ‘‘We love our new Townstar. It’s perfect for our needs and its range is more than adequate.’’
The vehicle will be on the road between 11am and 2pm every day, taking meals to the most vulnerable members of society such as elderly and disabled people.
McDaid added: “We have a five-year contract with the National Lottery Community Fund to provide the meals on wheels service – we have been allocated £246,000 to take us to 2029. That enabled the purchase of the vehicle and the addition of two new staff members.’’
Asked about the Townstar, McDaid added: ‘‘It was my first experience of driving a fully electric vehicle and I can’t sing its praises highly enough.”
