Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, has confirmed that from the 29th May 2025, fewer drivers and businesses will need to submit a planning application to install public or private EV charge points.
By cutting down on paperwork, more EV owners with a driveway will find it easier, quicker and cheaper to install a private charge point and power up their EVs at home. This will unlock savings of up to £1,100 a year compared to running a petrol or diesel car.
With planning changes also applying to workplace and public charge points, businesses will be able to install new sockets faster and for less, helping increase the number of public charge points so that EV owners can charge more easily, wherever they live and drive.
This comes on top of already significant discounts from government to help drivers install charge points outside their house. Government support currently allows people renting or owning a flat and those with on-street parking to receive up to £350 off the cost of installing a home charger.
Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said:
We’re cutting down on paperwork to power up the EV revolution so that drivers, businesses and those looking to make the switch will have more charge points to power from and less red tape to deal with.
We continue to make the switch to EVs easier, cheaper and better by investing over £2.3 billion to support drivers and back British carmakers through international trade deals – creating jobs, boosting investment and securing our future as part of our Plan for Change.
Today’s changes come as the government has now helped install 18,000 sockets in workplace carparks in the last year alone. This is firmly placing the UK on the road to become an EV world-leader, with nearly 80,000 public EV charge points now available in the UK.
The UK public charge point network continues to grow- nearly 3,000 public charging devices were added in April alone – with one popping up every 29 minutes.
Lewis Gardiner, Operations Director, Osprey Charging Network said:
This is a hugely welcome and practical change that will make a real difference on the ground.
Removing the need for planning permission for essential electrical infrastructure like substations across the majority of sites will save months of delays, reduce costs and accelerate the delivery of the rapid charging hubs drivers need. It’s the result of months of collaboration between industry and government and we’re proud to have played a key role in making it happen.
For drivers, the benefits of EVs are clear:
- running an EV can cost as little as 2 pence per mile
- EVs are constantly becoming cheaper, with 2 in 5 used EVs now under £20,000 and 29 brand new models priced under £30,000
- most new EVs have a range of nearly 300 miles – enough to get from London to Newcastle on one charge
Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s Chief Property and Procurement Officer and MD of Smart Charge, said:
Everyone at Smart Charge knows how important it is to make EV charging simple, reliable and accessible – both to make transport cleaner and to ensure we’re meeting the everyday needs of drivers throughout the UK.
We welcome this new streamlined approach to installing charge points, which will help accelerate the nation’s adoption of EVs.
