New EV infrastructure rules to come in from 29th May

New EV infrastructure rules are to come into play from 29th May 2025, which will make it easier for households and businesses in England to install off-street EV charging infrastructure without needing to submit a planning application. This will be possible due to changes to Permitted Development Rights (PDR).

Key amendments to PDR which will lower the barrier to EV infrastructure include removing the two-metre rule, which currently restricts EV outlets or upstands from being erected within two metres of a highway, and increasing heigh allowance, meaning that off-street upstands will now be able to be as high as 2.7 metres.

Additionally, businesses will be able to install one unit of equipment housing at ground level in a non-domestic off-street parking area, given that it is no larger than 29 cubic metres and no taller than three meters, is not places within five metres of a highway or ten metres of a home or block of flats, and is not located on scheduled monuments or near listed buildings.

The Department for Transport is expected to officially publicise these changes on 29th May in a push to ensure England's EV infrastructure can keep up with the rate at which EVs are being adopted, and the rate that EV adoption must take place in order to reach net zero related targets.