Scrap planning permission for EV wallbox chargers, Government urged

The head of one of the UK’s leading cross-pavement charging firms has told Auto Express that “urgent changes” need to be made surrounding planning permission and government subsidies for the installation of wallbox chargers.

Founder and CEO of Kerbo Charge, Michael Goulden, explained in an exclusive interview that “at the moment you need planning permission to install a wallbox charger, unless you have a driveway. We want to change that”.

Goulden said that whilst councils are “mostly supportive” of the installation of EV charging tech, scrapping the need for planning permission – provided the applicant implements a council-approved cross-pavement solution – would ultimately make the process of installing cross-pavement chargers much easier. This is essential, given how Goulden highlighted that only 40 per cent of the population are lucky enough to have their own driveway.

He said: “We’ve raised the issue with the Office for Zero-Emissions Vehicles and they do take it seriously. There was a wider consultation before the election, but now as we settle into this new government, we’re making it our top priority to engage them on it again.”

Goulden is famous for making an appearance on Dragons’ Den and winning the backing of Deborah Meaden, and his Kerbo Charge firm specialises in its very own cross pavement charging solution. This involves liaising with the relevant local council to drill a ‘channel’ in the pavement and install a gully that will house a cable, whilst ensuring the pavement surface remains flat.

The British start-up has also called on the government to increase the current £350 ‘Electric vehicle chargepoint and infrastructure grant’, which is currently only available to those without a driveway or who are living in rented accommodation.

“We try to keep costs as low as possible, but even including the government subsidy, the cost of installing a charger and a [cross-pavement] solution like Kerbo Charge is still at the £1,550 level which, for a lot of people, is not affordable,” Goulden explained. “This is where more means-tested subsidies are required.”

As of the time of writing, the aforementioned grant is the only cash incentive available to UK EV buyers since the discontinuation of the Plug-In Vehicle Grant in June 2022. To add insult to injury, the tax benefits for electric company car drivers are set to be slowly phased out in 2025, leaving little incentive for motorists to go electric.

As for the future, while all new houses in England with a driveway are mandated to have an EV charger installed, Goulden says Kerbo Charge is currently working with housebuilders to arrange the installation of EV charging gullies in new estates.

He stated: “25 per cent of new-builds still have a pavement between the house and car, so putting in our channel makes total sense.”

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