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Charging electric vehicles in Kent

There are many ways for electric vehicle (EV) owners to charge their cars in Kent.

You can find public chargers in town centres, supermarkets, restaurants, workplaces, petrol stations and lots of other places.

Most new electric cars have a range of at least 200 miles. For most this means you don't need a nightly charge at home.

Charging your car

You can view public charging points in ZapMap, or rent charging time from homeowners with a charger using a service like Co-Charger.

We are working with other councils to install over 600 public chargers around the county between now and 2024. Read more about our work to improve Kent's electric vehicle infrastructure.

It is against the law to place your own charger on public roads or run charging cables across paths. It is dangerous for pedestrians and could stop people with mobility impairments from using the path.

We are aware that small-scale trials to install cross pavement EV charging solutions are ongoing, and officers are participating in a national discussion about this via a forum led by the Department for Transport.

The  Government recently announced a grant to help residents without driveways or private parking to buy and install EV charge points at residential properties if they are also installing a cross-pavement charging solution.

The government has notified us that it intends to publish guidance to local authorities in the Spring of 2024 about cross-pavement parking. We will wait until the this guidance has been published before making a decision as to whether cross pavement solutions can be safely installed and operated within the highway network. We will particularly need to focus on a variety of concerns raised surrounding pedestrian safety, street works, asset ownership, checks and compliances, liabilities and the impact on residential parking.

The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI)

We are working on a LEVI project to install on-street chargers across the county and intend to apply for Kent’s allocation of funding later in 2024. This project aims to install chargers primarily in locations where residents don’t have access to private parking or their own driveway.

Some district councils place public EV chargers on-street using their own powers. We are looking at the options of a wider roll out of public EV chargers designed for those without access to off-street parking.

If you have a driveway, you can use the 3-pin charging cable provided by your car's manufacturer to charge directly from your home energy supply. Speak with your electricity provider about tariffs to support efficient charging.

For faster charging, you could consider installing a dedicated vehicle charger. The UK Government's Electric Vehicle Homecharge Grant helps some households with up to 75% of the installation costs.

If your charger faces onto the street and is installed within 2 metres of the road or pavement, you may need planning permission to install it. Speak to your district council if you are unsure.

If you have private parking that is separated from your home, for example a garage or parking bay within a residential parking area, you may think about installing a private charger.

The UK Government's Electric Vehicle Homecharge Grant helps some households with up to 75% of the installation costs.

If the connection of electricity from your home to the charger would need work done to, or under, a public highway (roads maintained by us), you'll need to employ a contractor to do the work who:

If the road is not managed by us, you do not require our permission to install a charger but you will need permission from the management company responsible for the road.