This one is frustrating, and entirely avoidable.
According to EVA England, EV drivers without driveways are being systematically blocked from accessing affordable home charging by a toxic mix of cost, confusion and council delays.
Their latest survey shows 93% of drivers without off-street parking don’t have a cross-pavement solution, yet 78% say it would work perfectly for their home. Despite that demand, only eight drivers surveyed had successfully installed one.
Why? Endless refusals. Months (or years) of silence. Planning costs adding £500+ per household on top of installs already approaching £3,000. Some drivers were even told the technology was unsafe, despite proven, compliant systems already in use.
The irony is painful. The tech exists. The demand is clear. And the fix is largely administrative.
EVA England supports the Government’s proposal to introduce permitted development rights for cross-pavement charging, removing unnecessary planning barriers while retaining safety oversight. Drivers say the current uncertainty alone is enough to stop them applying.
As Trojan Energy and Kerbo Charge both point out, without reform, up to 3 million households may never switch to EVs, not because they don’t want to, but because the system makes it too hard.
If we’re serious about a fair transition, this is low-hanging fruit. And right now, we’re walking straight past it.
EV Café takeaway
“We’re never going to solve this at council level. There has to be something at national level.”
—Sam Clarke
Cross-pavement charging sparked the most disagreement, and that’s telling.
Sam Clarke acknowledged the real-world complications:
“I’ve seen solutions so big there’s no chance a wheelchair gets over them. So I do get the concern.”
But the panel agreed the current situation is broken.
Paul Kirby brought it back to fleet reality:
“Even if you can charge at home once or twice a week, it saves money, improves productivity, and makes drivers feel better.”
The takeaway was clear: This doesn’t need endless pilots or local interpretation. It needs clear national rules, applied consistently, otherwise, the charging divide just deepens.