The Scottish Government has said it will legislate to ensure developers provide electric vehicle (EV) charge points in the construction of new residential and non-residential buildings.
The updated building regulations would mean that new residential buildings with a parking space have at least one EV charge point with a minimum 7kW rating.
For new non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces, 1 in every 10 would be expected to provide an EV charge point socket with a minimum 7kW rating.
The policy proposals also detail requirements for residential and non-residential buildings undergoing major renovation to provide charge points.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth said: 'I’m pleased to confirm that we will introduce legislation to ensure all new buildings are EV enabled. This supports our ambition of phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 as part of our response to the global climate emergency.
'These changes will provide a minimum standard that developers will need to consider going forward. We also know that many households will not have access to dedicated parking spaces and that’s why earlier this year we announced our £60m EV Infrastructure Fund, to ensure that all households across Scotland can be confident that EV charging will be local, accessible and that they too can switch to zero emission.'
The Scottish Government said it will put forward secondary legislation for the consideration of the Parliament by the end of the year to update the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
The proposals were published following a consultation titled ‘Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed Changes to Energy Standards Including Ventilation, Overheating and Electric Vehicle Charging Provision consultation'.
The minister launched the proposals on a visit to East Lothian Council, which is making progress at a local level on the provision of EV charging in new homes.
Cllr John McMillan, East Lothian’s cabinet member for environment, economic development and tourism said: 'East Lothian Council now requires housing developers to report on how their infrastructure is mitigating climate change, and allowing new residents to adapt.
'It is also our aim that every EV owner will have access to a charger on or near their usual parking place, and we engage constructively with developers to ensure their sites are capable of accommodating charging needs. We encourage innovative means of delivering chargers for everyone through features such as electrical load management.'
The Scottish Government announcement follows similar pledges made by Westminster last autumn, which stated that all new build homes in England will have to have EV charging points from this year.
