The Government has pledged to take action on the ‘charging divide' affecting the estimated 40% of UK households without off-street parking, making harder and more expensive for them to charge their electric vehicles (EVs).

Following a debate in the House of Lords on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill., the Government made two concessions:

  • It committed to a formal consultation on extending permitted development rights for home charging, to be followed by secondary legislation ‘as soon as possible.'
  • It committed to write to all local authorities, urging them to use their own highways contractors to support the installation of cross-pavement charging solutions - a practical measure to help reduce licensing delays and costs for residents.

Transport spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Baroness Pidgeon, raised the issue at the debate and outlined these two amendments.

She urged ministers to make EV charging infrastructure more affordable and fairer for households that lacked off-street parking, noting that installing cross-pavement charging channels can cost the resident around £3,000 and take over a year for approval. Also, public charging points that can cost up to 10 times more than home solutions.

Baroness Pidgeon said: ‘This amendment would help to democratise access to electric vehicles and reduce inequalities. ‘Finding ways to make it easier for people who do not have driveways to move to electric vehicles is so important for our green transition. I welcome the Minister's commitment to consult on permitted developments, followed by secondary legislation as soon as possible, and to write to all local authorities to speed up cross-pavement installations.'

Vicky Edmonds, chief executive officer (CEO) of Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) England, said: ‘Drivers without access to private driveways should not be barred from going electric. Yet in reality, this is what is happening. Evidence shows that drivers relying solely on the public network are finding EVs much more expensive and are less likely to make the switch.'