Key points
- Most chargers in non-domestic car parks in England are permitted development.
- Since 29 May 2025, upstands can be up to 2.7m tall and the 2m-from-a-highway rule has gone.
- Chargers within the curtilage of a listed building or on a scheduled monument still need permission.
- Conservation areas, Article 4 directions and World Heritage Sites need a check with your council.
The short answer
In England, most EV chargers in a business car park don't need a planning application. They're covered by permitted development rights, which allow certain small works without applying.
Our dual 22kW charger is a freestanding pedestal about 1.4m tall, well under the height limit. For most hotels, pubs and car parks, planning won't hold anything up. It's one of the checks we cover in how our installation works.
The exceptions matter in the North East, though. Country house hotels and wedding venues are often listed, and Durham and Northumberland have a lot of protected heritage.
What changed on 29 May 2025
The rules were updated by SI 2025/560, in force since 29 May 2025 (BVRLA summary). For non-domestic, off-street car parks:
- Chargers on an upstand (a post or pedestal) can now be up to 2.7m tall, up from 2.3m.
- The rule that banned chargers within 2m of a highway has been removed.
- One unit of equipment housing per car park is now allowed without an application.
Equipment housing means a cabinet or enclosure for supporting kit, such as a feeder pillar or power equipment for a bank of chargers. The new rules say that equipment must sit inside the housing. The housing must:
- be no more than 29 cubic metres and 3m high
- be more than 5m from a highway
- be more than 10m from the curtilage of a house or block of flats
- not be on a scheduled monument or within the curtilage of a listed building
A single pedestal fed from the building's own electrics often won't need a separate housing at all. Larger sites with several chargers are more likely to.
The limits that still apply
The permitted development rules for upstand chargers are in Class E of the General Permitted Development Order. Even after the 2025 changes, a charger isn't permitted development if it would:
- be more than 2.7m tall, or 1.6m within the curtilage of a house or block of flats
- be within the curtilage of a listed building
- be within a scheduled monument
- mean more than one upstand per parking space
There's also a condition at the end of the charger's life. When it's no longer needed for charging, it has to be removed and the ground put back as far as reasonably practicable.
The 1.6m limit catches people out on mixed sites. If the owner's house sits within the same grounds as the car park, check where the curtilage boundary runs.
Wall-mounted chargers
Chargers fixed to a wall come under a separate class. The Planning Portal says the outlet and its casing must not exceed 0.2 cubic metres. The same listed building and scheduled monument exclusions apply.
When you'll probably need to apply
Listed buildings
If the charger would sit within the curtilage of a listed building, it isn't permitted development. You'll need planning permission. If anything would be fixed to the listed building itself, listed building consent may be needed too.
Curtilage can be wider than people expect. Grounds, outbuildings and walled car parks can all fall within it. Your local planning authority can tell you where the line is.
Scheduled monuments
Chargers and equipment housing can't go on a site designated as a scheduled monument under permitted development. This is rare for car parks, but it does come up at historic estates.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions
The Class E text we read doesn't carve out conservation areas. The Planning Portal still advises checking whether the work is in a conservation area. It also points out that councils can remove permitted development rights through an Article 4 direction.
We couldn't confirm exactly how every conservation area treats chargers in car parks. If your site is in one, ask your local planning authority before work starts.
World Heritage Sites
Two of the region's best-known places are World Heritage Sites: Durham Castle and Cathedral and Hadrian's Wall, which is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire site. The planning sources we checked don't set out a specific charger rule for World Heritage Sites.
Sites in or near them often have listed buildings or conservation areas around them anyway. Treat that as a reason to check early. Our County Durham and Northumberland pages cover the local picture.
Other rules to keep in mind
New buildings and major renovations
Building Regulations Part S has applied in England since 15 June 2022 (Approved Document S). New non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces need one chargepoint of at least 7kW, plus cable routes to 1 in 5 of the remaining spaces.
Major renovations need the same, subject to a 7% cost cap. If you're building an extension or new lodges, check whether Part S applies.
Leases and landlords
If you lease your premises or car park, you'll usually need the landlord's consent for groundworks and a new installation. That's separate from planning, and it's worth asking early.
Scotland and Wales
This guide covers England only. Scotland and Wales set their own permitted development rules. Every area we cover, from Northumberland down to Teesside, is in England.
If you do need to apply
An application for a charger is usually small. Your local planning authority will tell you exactly what it needs, but expect to provide:
- a site plan showing where the pedestal, any cabinet and the cable route will go
- the size and appearance of the charger (ours is a slim pedestal about 1.4m tall)
- photos of the car park and the buildings around it
- for listed buildings, a short note on how the work affects the building's setting
Allow time for the decision when you plan your install date. If the application is needed, it becomes the first step, before any groundworks are booked.
How we deal with planning on a job
At the survey we'll ask if any buildings on site are listed, and if the site sits in a conservation area. We'll also look at where the pedestal and any cabinet would go, and how far they'd be from the road and from homes.
If the answer is clear, we carry on. If it isn't, we'll suggest a quick question to the local planning authority before any groundworks are booked. Planning rules do change, so check the current position for your site before you rely on this guide.
Next step
Planning is rarely the hold-up, but it's worth knowing early. Book a free site survey and we'll flag any planning questions along with the grid and groundworks, or see how the whole process works.