Drivers in Britain will no longer need planning permission to install cross-pavement charging gullies, after the government removed the requirement in a move it describes as cutting unnecessary red tape. The gullies allow a cable to run from a home wallbox to a car parked at the kerbside without obstructing the pavement, making home charging possible for households without a driveway.
Installing a gully involves carving out a section of the paved surface deep enough to run the cable through without creating a trip hazard. Until now, that work required formal planning approval, adding cost and delay for motorists seeking to charge an electric vehicle at home. Buses and local transport minister Simon Lightwood said the change could save motorists around £300 when installing a wallbox.
The decision is intended to make switching to an electric vehicle more practical for the millions of households that rely on kerbside parking. According to the RAC, more than nine million of the UK's 27 million homes lack off-street parking or the potential to create an off-street space. For those drivers, a cross-pavement gully can be the difference between charging at home and depending on the public network.
Vicky Edmonds, head of the Electric Vehicle Association England, called the move a meaningful step towards a fairer transition. She pointed to a survey of 1,668 drivers conducted by the lobby group in 2025, which found that 60% of petrol and diesel car owners without off-street parking would never consider an EV. Edmonds said it is now up to local authorities and landlords to make these solutions easier to access in practice.
The change follows the government's establishment last year of a £25 million grant to support cross-pavement charging solutions. Ministers have also launched two new consultations aimed at making home charging easier and ensuring newbuild homes are fitted with a charging solution. The government is further considering updating building regulations so that new or refurbished covered car parks are required to offer public EV chargers.
Taken together, the measures signal a push to widen access to charging infrastructure beyond those with private driveways. The government's argument is that removing planning hurdles lowers the upfront cost of home charging and removes a deterrent for drivers who might otherwise be put off by the practicalities of owning an electric car.
The practical effect will depend on how quickly councils and landlords adapt their own processes. While national planning permission is no longer required, installation still involves work on the public pavement, and local authorities retain responsibility for how such schemes operate on their streets. The Electric Vehicle Association England has urged those bodies to ensure the solutions are accessible in practice, not merely permitted in law.
For drivers without off-street parking, the combination of grant funding, simplified approval and proposed rules for newbuild homes and car parks amounts to a more coordinated approach to charging. The government's consultations and its review of building regulations are expected to shape how quickly those changes reach streets and developments across the country.