Proposals will be presented at the cabinet meeting on Monday 20 March and will outline a long-term phased approach to the buying or renting of vehicles as well as the operation, maintenance, replacement, and disposal of council fleet.

The plans also include bringing more electric vehicles into the fleet where possible during the first phase.

The local authority currently operates a diverse range of 337 vehicles and plant equipment across 22 departments, including bin collection lorries, vans and cars. These are a mixture of owned assets, lease agreements and hire arrangements.

The council aims to refresh 35% of the current fleet by 2025/26 to support their net zero by 2030 commitment.

The council’s cabinet member for Transport and Environment, Cllr Dominic Beck, said: ‘By introducing new and upgrading current vehicles, we will be able to ensure continued services across key areas, such as street cleaning and waste disposal, with less impact on the environment.

‘Refreshing the council’s fleet with greener, more fuel economic vehicles is just one of the many things we are doing to make Rotherham a net zero borough, and also compliments other projects such as our commitment to planting more trees and supporting active travel schemes that will bring a wide scope of benefits to residents.’

The council’s cabinet member for Jobs and the Local Economy, Cllr Denise Lelliott, said: ‘With electric and hybrid vehicles becoming more widely available in a variety of different types, it is natural that the council moves to adopt more of these into its fleet. We’ve already worked to install electric charging points across the borough, including in some of our town centre car parks.’