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# Lichfield District Council agrees £27,000 deal to lease new electric car
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-district-council-agrees-27000-deal-to-lease-new-electric-car/
- Published: 2022-03-16T09:40:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-03-16T17:23:01.000Z
- Description: A deal has been agreed for Lichfield District Council to spend almost £27,000 over the next four years to lease a new car for use by staff and civic leaders.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:11, News

A deal has been agreed for Lichfield District Council to spend almost £27,000 over the next four years to lease a new car for use by staff and civic leaders.

![A Mercedes EQA like the one being leased by Lichfield District Council](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/large-37456-mercedes-benzeqa.jpg)

A Mercedes EQA like the one being leased by Lichfield District Council

The local authority has signed the agreement on a new electric Mercedes EQA.

The agreement will cost the council £6,746 annually for the next four years.

A spokesperson for Lichfield District Council said:

> “We have leased a pool car, available to employees of Lichfield District Council when on council business.  
>  
> “It is fully electric and is to be used instead of petrol vehicles, where possible, when officers are required to travel.  
>  
> “The chair of the council will now also use this vehicle rather than having his or her own dedicated vehicle for official engagements, which has historically been the case.”  
>  
> Lichfield District Council spokesperson

The agreement for the car, which has a range of 264 miles and can fully charge in half-an-hour, will also see a charger installed.

The council said the vehicle would also form part of efforts within the local authority to tackle climate change.

> “Members were clear that, in order to support our net zero ambitions, this vehicle should be electric.  
>  
> “Use of this vehicle will also be more efficient than reimbursing staff on a per mile basis.”  
>  
> Lichfield District Council spokesperson

## Driving the debate on the civic car

![Lichfield District Council House](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/district-council-house.jpg)

Lichfield District Council House

The provision of a car for use by civic leaders at the district council has long been an issue of debate at the council, with [a 2016 review eventually seeing the vehicle downgraded from a Jaguar to a Ford Mondeo](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/changes-to-civic-car-are-approved-by-lichfield-district-council/).

Cllr David Leytham, who chaired the overview and scrutiny committee at the time and is a former chairman of the council, had [previously described the civic car as “absolutely essential”](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/former-chairman-insists-chauffeur-driven-car-is-absolutely-essential-if-civic-role-is-to-continue/).

A meeting on the issue in 2015 also saw Cllr Joseph Powell [suggest the vehicle was more than just a perk of the job for civic leaders](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/burntwood-councillor-spending-16000-on-chairmans-chauffeur-driven-car-is-crazy-in-times-of-austerity/):

> “It’s important that we make it clear that the car isn’t used for just having drinks and nice meals – we use it for lots of very useful meetings with the council, such as visiting homosexual groups.”  
>  
> Cllr Joseph Powell speaking at a Lichfield District Council meeting in 2015

More recently, a former chairman and leader of the council [said the civic car was “an essential tool of the trade”](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/civic-car-is-essential-tool-of-the-trade-and-not-a-perk-former-lichfield-district-council-chairman-says/) after Cllr Rob Birch had [suggested it was “pretentious and costly”](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillor-brands-civic-car-pretentious-and-costly-as-debate-begins-over-future-of-lichfield-district-council-vehicle/).

Earlier this year Cllr Derick Cross said that the lack of a car for civic leaders while a new one was being sourced demonstrated [that “everything seems to be falling apart and going downhill”](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-councillor-criticised-over-civic-car-comments/).