Households in England without driveways are being blocked from benefiting from a new £250 rule introduced by the Labour Party government. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband promised back in October that gullies to connect electric cars parked on streets would help cut costs for drivers. However, it is feared that UK households may be unable to use the simple technology because their local councils will still not allow charging cables to cross the pavement.
Government Plans to Ease Home Charging
The government announced ahead of Christmas that electric car owners will find it "easier and cheaper" to charge their vehicles at home under new plans designed to make it fairer for renters and those without a private driveway. The plans would make it easier for renters and leaseholders to install electric vehicle (EV) chargers by mandating chargepoints in new covered car parks and consulting on removing planning permission currently needed for those without driveways to install discreet cross pavement charging gullies, as the government bolsters its drive to make it easier than ever to plug in wherever you live.
The government confirmed it will consider cutting red tape for EV drivers without driveways to make it easier to install cross pavement charging solutions, speeding up applications and putting money back in drivers’ pockets by saving them up to £250 in application fees.
Local Authority Blocks
But now it has emerged that 20 local authorities are blocking households from the rule change. The Guardian newspaper reports several councils said they had concerns about safety, parking, and the aesthetics of cutting channels into pavements. "It’s still going to require local authority approval before each installation," said Michael Goulden, the co-founder of Kerbo Charge. "We’re getting more and more streamlined with local authorities to make that more efficient," Goulden added.
"Many inner London boroughs have no plans to do cross-pavement right now," said Goulden. "This change in the legislation [removing the need for planning permission] will make no difference to their residents in the near future." In the West Midlands, for instance, Worcestershire county council said it did not "permit the breaking or any damage to the highway to install an EV charger connection".
Government Response
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "Wherever you park your car, we’re making it fairer, easier, and cheaper to make the switch to electric. These reforms will improve infrastructure for the EV revolution, increase chargepoints across the country and open up affordable home charging to thousands of households. It’s good news for drivers and a big boost for the growing British EV industry – cutting costs and supporting jobs to deliver our Plan for Change."
