No planning application needed: the pavement cable that just got £300 cheaper
What happened
On 21 October 2026 the Department for Transport announced that planning permission is no longer needed to install a cross-pavement electric vehicle charger. A cross-pavement charger is a simple idea. If you park on the street because you have no driveway, a channel is cut into the pavement outside your home. Your charging cable runs through the channel, under a covered gully, so nobody trips over it. The cable comes from your own electricity supply. Until now, these installations needed planning permission. Removing that requirement, the government says, could save drivers up to £300 on the cost of installing one. The same announcement changed permitted development rights for larger public charging hubs, which the government says makes it quicker and cheaper for operators to put in bigger, higher-powered chargers. Two consultations were launched alongside it, both open for responses until 16 December 2026. One looks at amending building regulations so that new and refurbished covered car parks may have to include chargers. The other looks at expanding charging access for tenants and leaseholders, including clearer guidance for landlords and whether landlords and freeholders should face mandatory requirements, making it harder to refuse a tenant's request. Simon Lightwood MP, the Buses and Local Transport Minister, said: "We're saving drivers up to £300 off the cost of installing home charging by cutting unnecessary red tape."
Why this matters
The cost gap between charging at home and charging in public is large, and it falls along a line that has very little to do with income and a lot to do with housing. If you have a driveway, you charge on domestic electricity. The government says home charging through these cables can cost as little as 2p per mile, and puts the running-cost saving for households without off-street parking at up to £1,750. If you park on the street, you have historically had to use public chargers, which cost considerably more per unit of electricity. That is the whole problem in one sentence: the people least likely to be able to afford a new car have also been charged more to run one. The scale of the blockage shows up in research by EVA England, which found that 60% of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking would never consider an electric car. Meanwhile the market keeps moving. September 2026 was a record month for UK electric car sales, with nearly 100,000 sold, up 36% on the same month a year earlier. The Electric Car Grant has helped more than 190,000 drivers save up to £3,750 on a new electric vehicle.
What the evidence actually says
The honest version of this announcement is narrower than the headline. Removing the planning requirement removes one cost and one delay. It does not give anyone a right to dig up the pavement. The pavement belongs to the local highway authority, and you will still need its permission, usually through a licence. Councils have their own conditions about channel design, insurance and who is liable if someone trips. The £300 figure is the saving on installation from not needing planning permission. It is not the cost of the installation, which is considerably more: you are paying for a gully, the groundwork, and usually a charger as well. The up to £1,750 running-cost saving is a saving against public charging, not against petrol, and it depends on how far you drive and which tariff you are on. The 2p per mile figure assumes a cheap overnight electricity rate, which you have to actively switch to. Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of EVA England, called the change a meaningful step towards a fairer transition, and then put her finger on the catch: local authorities and landlords now need to make these solutions easier to access in practice. A rule that no longer requires planning permission still fails if the council takes six months to issue a licence. Dickson Abegunde, director of strategic partnerships at Zoopla, welcomed the change as making electric car ownership more accessible for households without off-street parking. Nothing in the announcement guarantees your council will say yes.
Practical advice
Start with your council, not a company. Search your local authority's website for "cross-pavement charging" or "EV cable gully licence". Some councils already have a scheme with approved installers. Some have none yet. Ask three things before you commit: what licence you need, what it costs, and who is liable if someone trips over the gully. Check whether your council runs a grant. There is also a government grant aimed at households without off-street parking, and it is worth checking what is currently open before paying full price. If you rent, this is the consultation that affects you. Responses on expanding access for tenants and leaseholders close on 16 December 2026. If your landlord has refused a charger, that experience is exactly what the consultation is asking about. If you are a leaseholder in a block, check your lease and your managing agent's rules before anything else. Blocks are where these projects most often stall. And whatever you install, the saving only arrives if you move to a tariff with a cheap overnight rate. Charging an electric car on a standard tariff throws away most of the advantage.
What to know
From 21 October 2026, cross-pavement electric vehicle chargers in England no longer need planning permission, which the Department for Transport says could save up to £300 per installation. Permitted development rights were also loosened for larger public charging hubs. You will still need permission from your local highway authority to work on the pavement. Home charging can cost as little as 2p per mile, and the government puts the running-cost saving for households without off-street parking at up to £1,750 against public charging. Two consultations, on building regulations for covered car parks and on access for tenants and leaseholders, are open until 16 December 2026. Sources: Department for Transport, "Drivers to save up to £300 when installing EV chargers at home, as government slashes unnecessary red tape", 21 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drivers-to-save-up-to-300-when-installing-ev-chargers-at-home-as-government-slashes-unnecessary-red-tape ; EVA England, research on drivers without off-street parking, 2026, https://www.evaengland.org.uk/ ; Department for Transport, "Electric Car Grant", https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electric-car-grant This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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