Planning permission requirement axed for under-pavement electric car charging
Urban EV drivers might no longer be at the mercy of the UK’s expensive charging network
Drivers of fully electric vehicles no longer need planning permission to install chargers which run under pavements from their home to their cars, the Government has announced.
According to the Department for Transport (DfT), the move will save electric car drivers up to £300 on the installation of home EV chargers and also means those without off-street parking will be able to utilise cheaper domestic electricity prices – instead of using the comparatively expensive public charging network.
Having published guidance on the cross-pavement solutions for charging electric vehicles in December 2024, the DfT proposed two solutions: cable channels embedded within the pavement or permanent under pavement cables. The latter of which does not require planning permission from today.
While a record 99,199 battery electric cars were sold in the UK in September (according to data from the SMMT), around 40 per cent of properties in the UK don’t have a driveway and the process of planning application for under-pavement charging was thought to be a major barrier to many looking to switch to an EV.
Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of EVA England, said: “Our research found that 60 per cent of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking would never consider an EV.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams welcomed the move and said it was a “much-needed step in the right direction to make charging fairer and accessible for all”. But he added: “While all this sounds good on paper, it’s important to remember that for the millions of households in the UK that don’t have driveways, the reality is that there is of course no guarantee of being able to park in front of their own home within reach of their charging cable.”
The typical cost of installing a home charger is between £800 to £1,200 with around double those sums needed for additional work for under pavement installation.
To further boost EV take up in the UK, the Government said it has also launched two consultations to ensure new buildings are equipped with chargers, plus it’s considering mandatory requirements for landlords and freeholders to make it more difficult for them to refuse renters’ applications for chargers.
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