Electric vehicle charging

If your home has off-street parking it is likely the installation of an EV home charger will fall under permitted development rights¹. As such no planning application is required before the installation begins provided it meets the following criteria set out by Schedule 2, Part 2, Class D and E of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended):²

When installing an electrical charging outlet (Class D), the outlet and its casing must not:

• Exceed 0.2 cubic metres
• Face onto and be within two metres of a highway
• Be within a site designated as a scheduled monument
• Be within the curtilage of a listed building.

When installing an upstand with a mounted electrical charging outlet (Class E), the upstand and outlet must not:

• Exceed 2.3 metres in height from the level of the surface used for the parking of vehicles. This limit is 1.6 metres where in the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or block of flats
• Be within two metres of a highway
• Be within a site designated as a scheduled monument
• Be within the curtilage of a listed building
• Result in more than one upstand being provided for each parking space.

For both Class D and E when the electrical outlet is no longer required as a charging point for electric vehicles, the wall (on which the outlet was mounted) or the land (on which the upstand was placed) must be returned to its previous condition (prior to the installation being carried out) as soon as possible.

Before carrying out any work you should check whether the work is in a conservation area or in the curtilage of a listed building. If in a conservation area or designated heritage site, then permitted development rights may be removed through an article 4 directive. Check with your LPA whether this applies.

If the work doesn’t meet the requirements set out above, then planning permission will be required. Alternatively, if you are unsure whether the work is legal you can apply for a lawful development certificate.

1. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/responsibilities/planning-permission/permitted-development-rights
2. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/part/2