Electric vehicle charging guidance for residents

You must consider public safety and existing laws when connecting the cable from the power supply in your home to your vehicle. This guidance is intended to help residents make informed decisions about how they can charge a vehicle safely.

Any legal liability arising from the placement of the cable or protector is your responsibility.

Refer to your vehicle’s handbook and any instructions for the use of cables, including extension cables, and seek advice from a qualified electrician before charging an electric vehicle.

Note that if you live in an area where the footpath is owned by another organisation, such as a Housing Association or a private company, then you should check to see if their guidance varies from ours.

You may also wish to speak to your home insurer to find out how your home insurance policy covers this situation.

Parking your vehicle for charging

Vehicles should be parked as close to the property as possible. Where a vehicle cannot be parked immediately outside the property, the cable should be run along the gutter against the kerb. The recommended maximum distance from a point outside the property is 10 metres (approximately 2 car lengths).

The cable should not cross the road; so, your vehicle should always be parked on the same side of the road as your property.

Any vehicle parked on the Highway must always adhere to any local parking restrictions that may be in place and should not obstruct the footway.

Charging your vehicle

Whenever you are charging your vehicle, you should always follow all guidance and recommendations in your manufacturer’s handbook (this may differ depending on the vehicle).

Any extension lead that you use should be suitable for outdoors use. You should read any instructions on the correct use provided with your extension lead. Cables should:

• be laid flat – this is best achieved with a cable protector
• not be extended from an upper storey to a vehicle
• not be hung from any street furniture including lamp columns or trees
• only be placed over the footway when the vehicle is charging and removed when not in use

Permissions

If you do not have access to off-street parking and would like to install a charger on your property using a cable cover, your installation company may request written permission from Hampshire County Council.

We cannot provide written approval for trailing a cable over the footway for EV charging purposes. Our guidance for safe charging over footways is to ensure pedestrians are adequately protected by anyone who decides to charge their EV using this method.

Hampshire County Council advise that you should contact your District Council to check if you require planning permission.

Cable licensing

Currently an EV charging cable does not require a licence. However, as policies are reviewed and updated this may change in the future.

Although no licence is currently required, where a location is not suitable then the County Council has existing powers under Section 162 of the Highways Act to seek to have the cable removed.

A license is required for all other temporary placement of cabling on or over the Highway.

Find out how to apply for consent to place cables on or over the highway.

Cable gully installations

Hampshire County Council does not currently permit the installation of cable gullies or cross pavement channels. The County Council has successfully applied for grant funding to investigate the feasibility of these charging solutions. Updates on the progress of this work will be published here in due course.