Transport Scotland has announced a cross-pavement electric vehicle charging pilot that will inform national guidance on the issue to support households without off-street parking.
The Cross Pavement Charging Grant pilot is backed by £250,000 of Scottish Government funding and delivered by the Energy Saving Trust.
Grants of up to £3,500 per household will be available for solutions such as pavement gulley technology or pop-up bollards. Currently, the pilot is available in East Lothian, Renfrewshire and Perth and Kinross - though other local authorities have 'expressed an interest to take part'.
The results 'will feed into the development of national guidance on cross-pavement charging', Transport Scotland said.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: 'The fund will improve access to people without off-street parking, such as driveways, promoting accessibility to electric vehicles to people more likely to have limited public charging options.
'Innovation and investment are crucial to continuing to support a Just Transition towards electric vehicle use and I look forward to hearing about more households successfully making the switch.'
Cllr John McMillan, East Lothian Council cabinet environment spokesperson, said: 'For people who don’t have a driveway or another convenient place to plug in near their house, cable gullies offer an accessible option for charging their vehicle from home.
'The council has been piloting this safer method of charging from home for nearly a year and we’ve received some great feedback from residents who have taken part.'
Alison Wilkie had a cross-pavement charging channel installed outside her home in North Berwick in 2023.
She said: 'The channel has made a huge difference - we can easily plug in our car whenever we want to, so long as no one else is parked there. We have a pin code on our charger, so it’s secure and it’s much safer than using mats. We don't really notice the channel as the installers made such a tidy job of it.'
