Living on Electric Avenue

Whilst the headlines were distracted by the revelation that our PM considers Peppa Pig World to be a model for future sustainable town planning, elsewhere at the CBI conference, forthcoming changes to buildings regulations that will have ramifications on the design and build of all new schemes were announced.

More than two years after its three month consultation, the government’s proposals to mandate electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in new homes, new non-residential buildings and, in some cases, when buildings are renovated, were defined in the DfT’s “Consultation Response: EV Charge Points in Residential and Non-residential Buildings”.

The key headlines are:

• Every new home (including those created by a change of use) will require EV charging to every car parking space provided;
• After extensive residential renovation (where there are more than 10 car parking spaces), all allocated parking spaces to have EV charging, with 20% passive provision to all unallocated spaces; and
• All new non-residential schemes (that have more than 10 car parking spaces), to have at least 1 EV charging space, and 20% passive provision for the remainder.

Key exemptions include where the costs of upgrading the electricity supply would exceed ￡3,600/unit, as well as covered and open sided car parks (due to fire safety concerns -20% passive only provision necessary).

Only time will tell what the implications may be to site layouts, but we may find the additional costs, particularly for residential schemes, further drives the move to zero or low car parking schemes. This may encourage more modal shift, or equally it could push more parking on to existing streets, where the design, control, and delivery of EV charging provision remains uncertain.

The relatively low provision being required for non-residential development is also surprising, as this could help assist meet the wider charging demand, and provide a solution to the on-street car parking problem. Only 10% of the UK housing stock was constructed in the past 20 years, so on that trajectory it may be many decades until a significant proportion of homes are occupied in locations with access to an EV charging point. We may find that as installation costs fall over time and/or EV ownership increases, non-residential sites may choose to install EV charging without the need for legislation, either as a loss leader to entice customers/staff, or as an income generator, through leasing of the EV charging spaces.

We will continue to monitor the changes over time, and advise our clients as necessary. We are already working on a number of projects across the UK where EV charging is the main reason for the development, rather than being ancillary to it. Will EV charging have to be classed as a new land use?

On other notes, we also advise Peppa Pig World on their expansion and access management, so it’s great to get such an endorsement from Boris!