Charging an electric vehicle without off-street parking

West Suffolk Council understand that there are challenges for individuals wishing to charge their electric vehicles at home without access to off-street parking.
Running a charging cable across the public footway or other public space to where the car is parking on-street is not permitted by West Suffolk Council or Suffolk County Council as you may be liable for anyone injuring themselves by tripping over the cables even if cable protectors are used.

Without off-street parking spaces residents don’t benefit from the same permitted development rights meaning that charging units are more likely to require planning permission. More details on planning can be found on Planning Portal - Electric vehicle charging

Suffolk County Council are currently running a trial of cross pavement solutions to see which, if any, might be suitable to make available for residents. Although the trial is currently full the county council has a reserve list, should space become available. Complete the EV Charging Channel Trial Expression if Interest Form to be added to the list.

This trial will conclude in January 2026. If county council decides after the trial to make one or all these products available, then residents would be able to apply for one in a similar manner to applying for a dropped kerb. Planning consent for a home charger would still be required as home chargers installed on properties without dedicated off-street parking are not deemed permitted development. A planning application would need to be submitted to West Suffolk Council at the appropriate time. More information on planning including pre-application advice can be found on our Planning pages.

For the time being, public charging is the safest way to recharge EVs for those without off-street parking. Suffolk County Council and West Suffolk Council are working in collaboration to install thousands of on-street chargepoints across Suffolk this year as part of our Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (LEVI). You can find out more about our EV charging projects at Suffolk County Council - Plug in Suffolk

You can suggest a location to have EV infrastructure installed by completing the Suffolk County Council's Request an EV chargepoint in Suffolk form 

Zap Map is a helpful tool for working out where your closest public chargepoint is.

For any other questions please contact a member of the Plug in Suffolk team via evcharging@suffolk.gov.uk.