Electric car owners in England who park on the street have long faced an awkward problem: home charging is the cheapest way to run an EV, but without a driveway, plugging in has been complicated, costly or simply off the table. A new rule change from the UK government aims to fix part of that. Drivers will no longer need to apply for planning permission to install a cross-pavement charger — the setup where a cable runs through a recessed channel, or 'gulley', built into the pavement, connecting a street-parked car to domestic power without creating a trip hazard for pedestrians.
The government says cutting the planning step will save drivers up to £300 per installation. Council approval is still required, so this is a reduction in paperwork rather than a free-for-all, but it removes one of the main bureaucratic hurdles. Buses and local transport minister Simon Lightwood framed it as part of a wider push, noting EV sales are up 36% year on year and more than 190,000 drivers have made the switch in the past year.
The savings go beyond installation. Home electricity rates are typically a fraction of public charging costs — and, as RAC head of policy Simon Williams pointed out, public chargepoints carry 20% VAT while domestic electricity is currently taxed at zero. For households that can only charge via a gulley, the difference could be significant over a year of motoring.
There is more in the pipeline. Two new consultations have been launched, one looking at making home charging easier and another requiring new buildings to come with chargers fitted. The government is also weighing mandatory rules that would limit the ability of landlords and freeholders to refuse a renter's request to install a chargepoint.
Why does this matter beyond the UK? Because access to charging is one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption anywhere. Research from EVA England, the drivers' association, found that 60% of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking would not consider an electric car at all. Chief executive Vicky Edmonds called the change 'a really welcome and meaningful step towards a fairer transition', suggesting it could be the difference between affording an EV and ruling one out — though she noted local authorities and landlords now need to make these solutions workable in practice.
For anyone planning a road trip in Britain with a hire EV, this is a slow-burn improvement rather than an instant fix. Public chargers — pricier per kWh but plentiful along motorways and in towns — remain the practical option for visitors. But for longer stays, self-catering cottages and rental homes with a gulley or driveway charger are becoming more common, and the rule change should speed that up. If you're renting a cottage on a future UK trip and want to top up overnight, it's now worth asking the owner about charging options before you book.
