The government says that it is cutting red tape for people installing new EV charge points, reducing installation costs and the time spent waiting for approval.
It’s all in an effort to boost charging infrastructure across the country, which is frequently cited by respondents to Electrifying surveys as something that puts them off swapping to electric, and something that carmakers bring up as a principle reason behind sluggish EV demand.
The enabler for the new rules is the Planning and Infrastructure Act, which got royal assent in December 2025 after passing through parliament – it has changed the regulations so that people installing charge points can apply for cheaper, easier permits.
Operators will now be able to apply for a permit to install a charge point through the government’s online portal, the same one used by utility companies and highway authorities when they apply for permission to make changes to critical bits of infrastructure.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has welcomed the changes she just made, saying (more implying, really) that we can expect more plugs very soon: “Businesses are at the heart of the EV revolution, and we're backing them every step of the way. These changes slash the cost of permits for businesses, lowering installation fees for public chargers from £1,000 to as little as £45, and cutting wait times from several months to just days.”
The head of policy at ChargeUK, which represents charging providers, welcomed the move, but said that the government still had more to do and that reducing VAT on public charging would also be helpful.
“Streamlining the process for charge point operators to apply for street works is a very positive move,” said Jarrod Birch. “It will help to speed up the deployment of the hundred thousand on-street local charge points we are expecting to install in the next two to three years. However there remains a lot more for government to do if it wants to fully back the businesses at the heart of the EV revolution.”
MPs and Lords have been working furiously to amend historic planning laws so we can have more EV plugs – thanks everyone 
