Ministers are set to announce a massive deregulation of electric car charging in a bid to roll out hundreds of thousands of extra points across England.
The Independent has learnt that part of the planning reforms to be unveiled in Parliament this week will do away with communities and businesses requiring permission for electric car charging points from councils.
The measure in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill will allow for a direct application to the Department for Transport (DfT), saving hours of paperwork as well as making the process much faster and cheaper.
It comes as the government has decided to restore a ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 as part of the transition to electric vehicles.
This comes along with a target of 300,000 electric charging points around the UK by 2030.
The latest figures show a 32 per cent rise from last year to around 75,000 points. However, this is well short of the target and is largely concentrated in London, where almost a third of all points are located.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the bill was an important step in making more EV chargers available across England.
“By streamlining the approvals process and reducing costs and time, this legislation will make it easier to install chargers, helping to ensure that every driver – whether in cities or rural areas – can charge up quickly and conveniently,” she said.
“This a win for businesses, local communities, and the taxpayer alike, as we move towards a greener and more sustainable future for transport.”
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook added the government wanted to make it “easier, cheaper, and faster” for owners of electric vehicles to be within distance of a charging point.
“That’s why our forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill will speed up the approval process for new chargers across England, making sure that those who can play their part in our clean power mission are able to do so,” he said, adding the measures would accelerate economic growth across every region of the country, “creating high-paid jobs and reducing costs for working people.”
The measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill are designed to speed up the rollout of EV charging infrastructure in England by streamlining the approval process for new chargers on public roads, slash bureaucratic costs, and support the UK’s transition to clean power by the end of this decade.
Local communities currently face a burdensome process when installing a charger, which require licences for street works, with waiting times for approval taking several months on average and costing EV charge point operators between £500 and £1000 per licence.
Through the bill, these street works licences for chargers will be replaced by permits, and any need for additional licences requested by some councils will be removed. Permits for all local authorities in England can be applied for online via the DfT’s street manager digital service, which also supports planning and coordination of all road works.
The government says permits for works that last 10 days or less will cost between £45 and £130, and take between two and five days to approve, saving hundreds of pounds and hours in the application process as well as helping new EV infrastructure spread in cities and rural areas where more drivers can charge on their street.
