Up to £300 in savings can now be made by electric vehicle (EV) drivers when installing cross-pavement chargers.

In an announcement today, the Government confirmed that planning permission will no longer be required for residents seeking to install cross-pavement EV chargers.

It will result in drivers saving as much as £300 in installation costs, as well as ensuring that home charging is opened up at prices as low as 2p per mile.

With almost 100,000 electric cars having been sold in the UK in just September, the Government is helping those without off-street parking save up to £1,750 in running costs for their vehicles.

It supports the Government’s aims of accelerating the transition to electric vehicle use, by ‘slashing unnecessary red tape’ and making home chargers both cheaper and faster to install.

Furthermore, the move will see that charge point operators can install bigger, higher-powered public EV charging hubs with greater speed and for a lower price.

The announcement comes in tandem with two Government consultations that have been rolled out to help make home charging easier and promote the introduction of chargers in new buildings.

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Vicky Edmonds, CEO of EVA England, said: ‘This might look like a small planning change, but for someone without a driveway, it could make the difference between being able to afford an electric car and ruling one out altogether. Removing the need for planning permission for cross-pavement charging is a really welcome and meaningful step towards a fairer transition.

‘Our research found that 60% of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking would never consider an EV. Being able to connect a car parked on the street to cheaper home electricity could help change that. It’s now up to local authorities and landlords to make these solutions easier to access in practice.’