The headlines say you can now fit an EV charger on your driveway without planning permission. That is broadly true, and it has been true since May 2025. What the headlines leave out is the set of conditions attached, the properties that are excluded entirely, and the fact that most homeowners with a driveway cannot claim the £500 grant everyone keeps quoting.
Here is the version written by people who actually fit these things.
The short answer
A standard home charger on a private driveway in England is permitted development. No planning application, no fee, no waiting. But it has to meet specific limits, and if your home sits in a conservation area or is listed, permitted development does not apply to you at all.
Separately, the installation is still notifiable electrical work. A charger almost always needs a new dedicated circuit, which makes it notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations and certifiable to BS 7671. Planning permission and building control are two different things, and only one of them went away.
The rules as they stand
The current rules took effect on 21 October 2026, replacing the previous set. The older rules can still be used for work carried out up to 20 October 2027, which matters if your installer quoted under the previous regime.
A wall-mounted charger (Class D):
- The unit and its casing must be no more than 0.2 cubic metres
- No more than 1.6 m above ground level
- Only one outlet within the curtilage of the house
- If the wall adjoins a highway, the unit can stand no more than 0.2 m proud of the wall
- And it must be more than 1.5 m from the edge of the carriageway
A free-standing upstand (Class E):
- 1.6 m or less in height within the curtilage of the house
- One upstand per parking space
Both classes exclude: conservation areas, the curtilage of a listed building, and scheduled monuments. This is the condition the tabloids consistently miss, and it is the one that catches people out in older parts of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Olney and the surrounding villages. If you are in one of those areas you are back to a planning application, or a conversation with your local planning authority first.
One more condition worth knowing: when the charger is no longer needed, you are expected to restore the wall or ground to its previous condition as soon as reasonably possible.
And check for an Article 4 direction on your property. These remove permitted development rights in specific areas, and they override everything above.
No driveway? The rules changed for you too
The bigger change in October 2026 was for people who park on the street. Cross-pavement charging solutions — a channel or gully set into the footway so a cable can run safely from the house to a car at the kerb — are now permitted development, provided they are installed by, for, or with the authority of the highway authority. In practice that means your local council has to be involved; you cannot simply cut a channel across a public footpath yourself.
The same exclusions apply: not in a conservation area, not at a listed building, not on a scheduled monument.
The grant, honestly
This is where most of the coverage is simply wrong.
There is no general grant for a homeowner with a driveway. That scheme ended years ago. What exists now is five separate schemes, all running until 31 March 2027, described by the government as the final year of the programme:
| Scheme | Amount | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Renters and flat owners | Up to £500 | You rent, or you own and live in a flat. Requires private off-street parking |
| Households with on-street parking | Up to £500 | Homeowners or tenants with only on-street parking, installing a cross-pavement solution |
| Workplace Charging Scheme | Up to £500 per socket, max 40 | Businesses, charities, public sector |
| Landlord grant | Up to £500 per socket, max 200 | Private landlords, social housing providers, public sector, managing agents |
| Education Workplace Charging Scheme | Up to £2,000 per socket, max 40 | State-funded schools and education institutions |
So: if you own your house and have a driveway, you pay full price. If you rent that same house, you can claim £500. It is an odd outcome, but it is the rule.
The education scheme at £2,000 per socket is the one nobody talks about and it is substantial. If you are a governor, business manager or site manager at a school, that is worth a conversation.
What this does not remove
Worth being blunt, because the "red tape slashed" framing gives people the wrong idea:
- Part P still applies. New circuit, notifiable work, certificate required. Use someone registered with a competent person scheme — we are NAPIT registered — or you are paying your council building control to inspect it.
- Your DNO may still need to know. Most 7 kW single-phase home chargers are notified after the fact, but if you already have solar, a battery, a heat pump or a second charger, the cumulative load changes the picture and may need an application before the work, not after.
- Your supply may not cope. We still find 60 A and 80 A main fuses on older properties in and around Milton Keynes. A 7 kW charger draws around 32 A on its own. Load management, or a fuse upgrade from the DNO, is sometimes the real constraint — not planning.
- Earthing arrangements matter. PME/TN-C-S supplies need either an earth rod or a charger with integrated open-PEN protection. Most modern units handle this internally, but it is not optional.
- Smart charging is mandatory. New home chargepoints sold in Great Britain must meet the smart charge point regulations. Any reputable unit does, but it rules out the cheap imports.
What it actually costs
A straightforward 7 kW installation — charger on the garage or house wall, short cable run from the consumer unit, no supply work needed — is typically £800 to £1,200 fitted, depending on the unit you choose.
What pushes it up: long cable runs, a consumer unit that has no spare way or needs replacing, armoured cable buried across a driveway, a detached garage, scaffolding, or load management hardware where the supply is tight. We price those honestly at survey rather than quoting a headline figure and adding extras afterwards.
If you have solar, it is worth choosing a charger that can match charging to surplus generation rather than one that merely schedules on a timer. The difference in running cost over a few years is larger than the difference in hardware price.
Common questions
In most cases, no. A wall-mounted charger under 0.2 cubic metres, no more than 1.6 m high, more than 1.5 m from the carriageway, and not in a conservation area or at a listed building, is permitted development.
No. Permitted development for EV chargepoints specifically excludes conservation areas, the curtilage of listed buildings and scheduled monuments. You will need to apply.
Yes. A charger adds a new dedicated circuit, which is notifiable under Part P in England and must be certified to BS 7671, whether or not planning permission was needed.
Not if you have a driveway. The current grants cover renters, flat owners, households with only on-street parking using a cross-pavement solution, landlords, workplaces and schools. All five close on 31 March 2027.
Cross-pavement charging channels became permitted development on 21 October 2026, but they must be installed by or with the authority of your highway authority. The £500 grant for households with on-street parking is aimed exactly at this.
1.6 m above ground level, for both a wall-mounted unit and a free-standing upstand.
Getting it done
We are NAPIT registered and install EV chargers across Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, including alongside solar and battery storage where it makes sense to do both at once.
If you are not sure whether your property is in a conservation area, or whether your supply will take a 7 kW charger alongside what you already have, ask us before you order anything. It is a five-minute answer and it saves a wasted visit.