Planning permission
Do you need planning permission for an EV charger?
- Covers
- EV charger, electric car charger, home charging point, wallbox, charging post, charging bollard, electric vehicle charge point
- The law
- GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Classes D and E, as amended by SI 2025/560 from 29 May 2025
- Applies to
- England
Short answer
Usually not, in England. Part 2 of the General Permitted Development Order grants permission for a charge point within an area lawfully used for off-street parking: a wall-mounted outlet under Class D, or a freestanding post (an "upstand") under Class E. A wall unit and its casing must not exceed 0.2 cubic metres. A post at a house or block of flats must not exceed 1.6 metres in height, with no more than one per parking space.
Neither is permitted within the curtilage of a listed building or on a scheduled monument. Since 29 May 2025 chargers can also go within 2 metres of a highway. Because these rights are in Part 2, they apply to flats as well as houses.
Check your own project Check your address
The limits
| Test | Wall outlet (Class D) | Post (Class E) |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Within an area lawfully used for off-street parking | Within an area lawfully used for off-street parking |
| Size | Outlet and casing no more than 0.2 cubic metres | No more than 1.6 m above the parking surface at a house or block of flats |
| Number | No limit in the Class | One upstand per parking space |
| Listed building | Not within its curtilage | Not within its curtilage |
| Scheduled monument | Excluded | Excluded |
| Near a highway | No limit since 29 May 2025 | No limit since 29 May 2025 |
| When no longer needed | Remove and make good the wall | Remove and reinstate the land |
E.1(1) Development is not permitted by paragraph E(1) if the upstand and the outlet would: (a) in relation to an upstand and outlet: (i) within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or a block of flats, exceed 1.6 metres in height from the level of the surface used for the parking of vehicles; ... (e) result in more than 1 upstand being provided for each parking space.
What changed on 29 May 2025
SI 2025/560 removed the exclusions that stopped a wall outlet that would "face onto and be within 2 metres of a highway", and an upstand "within 2 metres of a highway". A charger by the front boundary of a short driveway can now fall within either Class. The same Order raised the height limit for posts away from homes to 2.7 metres and added equipment housing for non-domestic car parks; neither affects a house.
Points to check
- The parking must be lawful. Both Classes apply only "within an area lawfully used for off-street parking". If the parking space was created without the permissions it needed, it may not count: see driveways and dropped kerbs.
- Nothing outside the parking area. Neither Class covers equipment on or across the pavement, so ask the highway authority before running anything over it.
- Conservation areas. Classes D and E have no article 2(3) land restriction, so they apply in conservation areas, unless an article 4 direction removes them.
- Flats. For Class E, a "block of flats" means a building of at least two flats (paragraph E.3). That is wider than the Part 14 definition used for solar panels and heat pumps, which needs a building made up wholly of flats.
- Listed buildings. A charger within the curtilage of a listed building needs planning permission, and fixing a charger to a listed building may also need listed building consent.
The permitted development checker runs through these tests.
Getting certainty
A lawful development certificate under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 confirms that a proposed charge point would be lawful; the council has 8 weeks to decide. It is most useful where the lawfulness of the parking space itself is in doubt. See lawful development certificates.
Sources
- GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2 (Classes D and E) legislation.gov.uk
- The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2025, SI 2025/560 legislation.gov.uk
- Explanatory memorandum to SI 2025/560 legislation.gov.uk
- Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 192 legislation.gov.uk