Do You Need Planning Permission for Commercial EV Charging?

Most commercial EV charger installations in England do not need planning permission. Wall-mounted units and free-standing pedestal chargers installed in a car park lawfully used for off-street parking are permitted development under the General Permitted Development Order, so long as they stay within set size limits. The main exceptions are heritage sites, structures such as canopies, and larger rapid-charging infrastructure. Separately, Part S of the Building Regulations sets minimum chargepoint and ducting requirements for new buildings and major renovations — and if you lease your premises, your landlord’s consent usually matters more than the council’s.

When chargers are permitted development

Two classes of permitted development cover most commercial installs in England, and both apply only within an area lawfully used for off-street parking:

• Wall-mounted chargers are permitted (Class D) provided the outlet and its casing do not exceed 0.2 cubic metres.
• Pedestal and upstand chargers are permitted (Class E) up to 2.7 metres tall measured from the parking surface, with no more than one upstand per parking space.

Neither right applies on a scheduled monument or within the curtilage of a listed building. Both also carry a reinstatement condition: once a chargepoint is no longer needed, it must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable and the wall or land restored.

The regime was loosened on 29 May 2025. The old rule against chargers facing within 2 metres of a highway was removed, the non-domestic upstand height limit rose from 2.3 to 2.7 metres, and new rights were added for ground-level operating equipment and a single equipment-housing unit in non-domestic car parks.

Limits last checked July 2026 against legislation.gov.uk; the heritage exclusions apply to every row.

The exceptions worth taking seriously

Listed buildings and scheduled monuments sit outside the permitted development rights entirely — and works affecting a listed building may also need listed building consent, a separate regime from planning permission. In conservation areas, councils can remove permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction, so check with the local planning authority before committing.

Canopies, solar carports and rapid hubs are the other big one. The permitted development rights cover chargepoints, upstands and one modest equipment-housing unit — not overhead structures or substation compounds. If your plans include a canopy, or grid infrastructure beyond that single housing unit, budget time for a full application.

Two smaller points: illuminated branding or signage can need advertisement consent, and if you open your chargers to the public, the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 apply — contactless payment on new units of 8kW and above, reliability standards for rapid networks, and clear pence-per-kilowatt-hour pricing.

Part S: obligations on new builds and major renovations

Part S of the Building Regulations has applied in England since 15 June 2022 and works in the opposite direction to planning: rather than restricting chargers, it requires them.

A new non-residential building with more than 10 parking spaces must have at least one chargepoint, plus cable routes (ducting) for at least one in five of the remaining spaces. A major renovation that leaves the building with more than 10 spaces faces the same requirement. Part S does not bite on existing buildings that aren’t being renovated, and there is an exemption where compliance would unacceptably alter a listed building or other heritage site.

The statutory guidance in Approved Document S generally expects each chargepoint to be at least 7kW on a dedicated circuit — confirm the current wording with your building control body.

Leased premises: the landlord comes first

If you lease your site, planning is often the easy part. Most commercial leases restrict alterations, so fixing chargers, running cabling and upgrading the distribution board will almost always need the landlord’s written consent — typically documented in a licence for alterations covering reinstatement and who owns the kit at lease end. That’s solicitor territory, and worth resolving early: a Workplace Charging Scheme voucher is only valid for 180 days, so sort consent before you apply. The WCS currently pays up to £500 per socket for up to 40 sockets across your sites, funded until 31 March 2027 (last checked July 2026; see GOV.UK) — details on our grants hub.

Grid capacity is the other quiet timeline driver. Approval from your distribution network operator is separate from planning altogether, and for larger installs it often takes longer than either. The installer you choose will assess your supply and distribution board as part of the quote — you can find an installer covering your area or request a free quote, and our commercial charging hub covers the wider project.

Scotland and Wales differ

Scotland has its own permitted development classes for EV charging (Classes 9E and 9F), explained in Planning Circular 2/2024, with limits that differ from England’s. Wales runs a separate planning regime too, and the May 2025 changes described above apply to England only. In both nations, check with the local planning authority first.

Planning rules, Building Regulations guidance and grant terms all change. Everything above was checked in July 2026 against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK — confirm anything decision-critical with your local planning authority, and take lease questions to your solicitor.