Government Consults on Electric Charging Points
With the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions becoming increasingly prominent, a Government consultation could see a requirement introduced for all new residential and non-residential development to provide electric car charging points.
The consultation, which expired on 7th October 2019, proposed the following new requirements:
New Residential Buildings:
- Government proposes every new residential building with an associated car parking space to have a chargepoint.
- This requirement would also apply to buildings undergoing a material change of use to residential, for example those falling under Class Q permitted Development Rights.
- Also proposed is a requirement for every residential building undergoing major renovation with more than 10 car parking spaces to have cable routes for electric vehicle charge points in every car parking space.
New Non-Residential Buildings:
- Government proposes every new non-residential building and every non-residential building undergoing a major renovation with more than 10 car parking spaces to have one chargepoint and cable routes for an electric vehicle chargepoint for one in five spaces.
Existing Non-Residential Buildings:
- Government proposes a requirement of at least one chargepoint in existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 car parking spaces, to be applicable from 2025.
In recent years Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) have increasingly sought to introduce requirements for electric vehicle charging points, particularly in locations that would otherwise be seen as unsustainable. Similarly the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) encourages the use of sustainable modes of transport, including electric vehicle usage. However, this new consultation could see the provision of electric charging points become a requirement across the board for the majority of new developments, and therefore developers and planners may need to factor this into their upfront cost estimations and site layouts in future.