Office Buildings Will Require EV Charging Points by Law

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22 September 2021

The government is proposing that every new non-residential building must have one electric vehicle charge point for one in five spaces.

Existing non-residential buildings will be required to have at least one charge point for every 20 car parking spaces, applicable from 2025.

By introducing a requirement within Building Regulations, the government hopes that they can help future-proof the UK's building stock. 

The consultation period began on 15 July 2019 and ran until 7 October 2019. Rachel Maclean, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary spoke during transport questions in the Commons on Thursday 9 September: 

"We will publish our consultation response on requiring all new residential and non-residential buildings to have a charge point and we intend to lay legislation later this year.

"We also confirmed our intention to mandate that home and workplace electric vehicle chargers must be capable of smart charging."

According to details published in the consultation document, installing a charge point upfront in an average non-residential car park is around £1,100 less expensive than retrofitting a charge point at a later point. 

Charging a Barrier to Electric Vehicle Adoption

In July 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its final report on its market study into electric vehicle (EV) charging in the UK. It raised concerns about charge point deployment, stating that access to suitable charging can be a “postcode lottery” and that some areas are at risk of being left behind.

A lack of charge points is often cited in consumer research as a key reason as to why some people will not consider buying an EV. Increasing access to and availability of charge points is, therefore, key to encouraging people to make the switch.

A key attraction of an EV is that it can be charged wherever it is parked, provided there is a suitable electrical outlet.

According to a Department for Transport (DfT) survey, four in ten of those surveyed mentioned recharging when asked about electric vehicle ownership disadvantages, and three in ten mentioned a scarcity of charging points.

Picture: a photograph of an electric vehicle being charged

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 22 September 2021

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