In a 21 October 2026 announcement, the Department for Transport said drivers without a driveway will no longer need planning permission to install qualifying cross-pavement electric vehicle chargers. The change is intended to remove one of the more routine planning steps for households seeking to charge from home while parking on the street. The government said the planning change could cut installation costs by up to £300. In policy terms, the adjustment is modest but practical: it uses permitted development rights to reduce time, paperwork and upfront cost for a specific class of domestic charging installation.
Cross-pavement charging refers to equipment that runs beneath the pavement from a home electricity supply to a vehicle parked outside. For households without off-street parking, that matters because it can provide access to domestic electricity tariffs rather than relying only on public charging networks. The Department for Transport said this could open up home charging at as little as 2p per mile and deliver running-cost savings of up to £1,750. Those are government estimates, but they explain why ministers are treating this as both a transport measure and a cost-of-living intervention.
The announcement also sits within a wider expansion in electric vehicle uptake. According to the Department for Transport, September 2026 recorded nearly 100,000 electric car sales, up 36 per cent on the same month a year earlier. Ministers linked that growth to the Electric Car Grant, which the government said has helped more than 190,000 drivers save up to £3,750 on a new electric vehicle. Simon Lightwood, the Buses and Local Transport Minister, presented the latest planning change as a way to lower one more barrier as the vehicle market shifts towards electric models.
The reform is not limited to domestic charging. The government also said changes to permitted development rights will make it quicker and cheaper for charge point operators to install larger, higher-powered public charging hubs. That matters for rollout speed as well as consumer confidence. Where planning requirements are lighter for qualifying schemes, operators can move more quickly from site identification to installation, which in turn affects the visibility and reliability of local charging provision.
Stakeholder reaction focused on access rather than headline sales numbers. EVA England said the removal of planning permission for cross-pavement charging could be decisive for people who would otherwise rule out an electric car because they do not have a driveway. The organisation pointed to its own research showing that 60 per cent of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking would never consider an EV. Zoopla also backed the move, saying access to charging is an important factor in housing decisions and in how prospective buyers assess a property area.
The accompanying consultations show that ministers do not view planning reform on its own as sufficient. Alongside the permitted development change, the government has opened a consultation on expanding electric vehicle charging access for tenants and leaseholders. According to the Department for Transport, the proposal is aimed at creating a clearer, quicker and more consistent route for renters and leaseholders who want to install a charge point. The consultation also considers whether landlords and freeholders should face firmer requirements, making it harder to refuse applications without good reason.
A second consultation covers building regulations. The government is considering whether charge points should be required in new and refurbished covered car parks, extending charging provision into the design stage of new development and major works. For policy professionals, this is the more structural part of the package. If adopted, building regulation changes would move charging infrastructure from an optional retrofit towards a standard expectation in relevant schemes, with implications for developers, building owners and compliance teams.
Both consultations close on 16 December 2026. The immediate legal change removes one planning hurdle for eligible cross-pavement chargers, but the wider access question now turns on landlord practice, leasehold processes and the eventual shape of the building regulations response. Taken together, the package points to a more interventionist approach to home charging access. The Department for Transport has reduced one source of planning friction now, while using consultation to test whether tenancy and building rules should do more of the remaining work.