For most homeowners, the honest answer is no, but “most” is doing some work in that sentence, and it’s worth knowing exactly where you sit before you assume your installation is straightforward.
What permitted development actually covers
Home EV chargers generally fall under what’s called permitted development, meaning they don’t need a full planning application, provided certain conditions are met. According to the Planning Portal’s own guidance on permitted development for EV chargers, a wall-mounted charging outlet in an area lawfully used for off-street parking is covered as long as the unit doesn’t exceed 0.2 cubic metres in size. Following changes introduced in May 2025, wall-mounted chargers are now also permitted to face onto a highway, which previously wasn’t allowed.
If you’re using a freestanding upstand or pedestal charger instead of a wall-mounted one, that’s covered too, provided it doesn’t exceed 2.3 metres in height from the parking surface. Larger equipment cabinets, sometimes needed for higher-capacity installations, are also permitted development as long as they’re no taller than 3 metres, under 29 cubic metres in volume, and kept at least 5 metres from a highway and 10 metres from a residential building.
Where permitted development doesn’t apply
There are some clear exceptions worth knowing before you get too far into planning an installation. Chargepoints can’t be installed within the curtilage of a listed building or a scheduled monument under permitted development rights, and conservation areas add another layer of consideration. Even where the rules technically allow a charger, local planning authorities can still expect a conversation if the installation would visibly affect the character of a listed building or its setting.
As solicitors specialising in property law note in their guidance on EV charging points and permitted development, it’s always worth checking with your local council directly if your property is listed or sits within a conservation area, since the consequences of getting this wrong, potentially including enforcement action requiring removal, are considerably more hassle than a quick phone call beforehand.
What happens if you get it wrong
It’s worth understanding the actual consequences of skipping this step, rather than just taking it on trust that it matters. If a chargepoint is installed outside permitted development rights, for example within the curtilage of a listed building without consent, the local planning authority can require it to be altered or removed entirely, at your own cost. That’s a considerably more expensive and disruptive outcome than a short phone call to the council would have been beforehand.
Some local authorities have also introduced what’s known as an Article 4 direction, which removes standard permitted development rights for specific streets or areas, often in conservation areas or places with a particular architectural character. Where an Article 4 direction applies, an installation that would normally be permitted development elsewhere may need a full planning application locally. It’s not something you can tell just by looking at a property, so it’s genuinely worth a quick check with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council if you’re at all unsure.
No driveway? Cross-pavement charging has its own rules entirely
A lot of homes around Basingstoke, particularly older terraced properties closer to the town centre, don’t have off-street parking at all, which raises a different question: can you run a cable from your house, across the pavement, to a car parked on the street. The answer isn’t a simple yes, because a public pavement is part of the highway, and running anything across it, including a charging cable, needs the consent of the highway authority under Section 178 of the Highways Act 1980.
The government’s own guidance on cross-pavement solutions for charging electric vehicles sets out how local authorities can approve safe, trip-hazard-free solutions, typically a recessed channel or gully that houses the cable flush with the pavement surface, rather than a cable trailing loosely across it. Whether this is available to you depends entirely on what your local highway authority has agreed to permit, so it’s worth checking with Hampshire County Council or Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council directly if this applies to your property, rather than assuming a solution you’ve seen elsewhere is automatically allowed here.
This isn’t just bureaucracy for its own sake. A cable trailing loosely across a public pavement is a genuine trip hazard for pedestrians, wheelchair and pushchair users in particular, and if someone were injured by an unauthorised cable outside your property, you could find yourself personally liable. A properly approved cross-pavement solution removes that risk, which is exactly why the consent process exists rather than being an optional formality.
Renting or living in a leasehold property
Permitted development rights are about planning law, not about what your landlord or freeholder will actually allow. If you rent your home, or you own a leasehold flat or house, your tenancy agreement or lease may restrict alterations to the property regardless of what planning rules technically permit. It’s always worth getting written permission from your landlord or freeholder before any work starts, both to avoid a dispute later and because most installers, quite reasonably, will want to see that permission in writing before they fit anything.
Why the electrical side still needs doing properly, even without planning permission
Even in the many cases where no planning application is needed at all, the electrical installation itself is a separate matter entirely. Running a new circuit for an EV charger is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations, and it needs to be carried out and certified by someone properly qualified, regardless of whether planning permission was required for the physical unit. Skipping planning permission doesn’t mean skipping the electrical compliance that keeps the installation safe.
GU Solutions is a NICEIC Approved Contractor and Domestic Installer, so alongside a compliant, certified electrical installation, we can also talk you through where your specific property sits on planning, whether that’s confirming permitted development applies, flagging a listed building or conservation area consideration, or pointing you toward your local authority for a cross-pavement solution if you don’t have off-street parking.
What to check before work starts
Before booking an installation, it’s worth confirming whether your property is listed, in a conservation area, or affected by an Article 4 direction that removes standard permitted development rights locally, since some council areas do restrict them. If you’re renting or leasehold, get written permission from your landlord or freeholder first. And if you don’t have off-street parking, contact your local highway authority about cross-pavement charging options before assuming a cable across the pavement is simply allowed.
Getting it right from the start
Whether you need planning permission for an EV charger depends on your specific property, not a blanket rule that applies to every home in Basingstoke, Old Basing, Chineham, Oakley or Sherborne St John. Getting it checked properly before work starts avoids the far bigger hassle of unpicking a problem afterwards.
If you’d like help working out where you stand, GU Solutions is the first port of call. As NICEIC Approved Contractors and Domestic Installers, we’ll make sure the electrical side is done safely and compliantly, and point you in the right direction on planning before anything goes ahead.
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