£900k for pavement trenches for electric car users without driveways

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are set to gain more than £900,000 to install hundreds of trenches in pavements for people without driveways to charge electric vehicles.

A Government grant of £945,000 is set to be given to the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to enable the trenches to be installed across Derby, Nottingham, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, for residents who would like them.

A combined authority report on the issue says the funding will be divided between the four county and city councils who will oversee its use.

It details that installation of the pavement trenches can cost up to £1,200 per fitting, which would allow for more than 700 to be installed across the two counties and two cities.

This follows a £774,000 pilot from Nottinghamshire County Council in 2022 which led to 100 channels being installed across the area, with capacity for up to 300.

That trial has seen 580 expressions of interest in the past three years and led to around 100 installations since the funding was received in January 2023.

For comparison, each other highways authority has received 50-80 expressions of interest, without pilots to facilitate them.

The report says the Nottinghamshire pilot has led to just 17 per cent of its expressions of interests translating into actual installations to date.

As such, the combined authority says: “There remains limited insight into the true level of demand or the potential scale and feasible deliverability of pavement channel rollout across the region’s highway network. 

“As such, it is not currently possible to confirm with certainty whether further funding will be required, nor to define a maximum amount that could be effectively utilised. However, “EMCCA would welcome the opportunity to engage with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles and the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure pilot fund to explore future funding allocations, should resident demand exceed current projections. 

“This flexible approach ensures that the region remains responsive to evolving needs while maintaining prudent financial planning.

“EMCCA recognises that delivering electric vehicle infrastructure across the region will require a diverse mix of technologies tailored to the specific needs and constraints of each location e.g. from electric vehicle charging hubs and dedicated on-street charging posts to integrated streetlight infrastructure. 

“Since a uniform approach is neither practical nor effective, pavement channels will offer a valuable alternative solution to households that lack off-street parking in places that can accommodate them.”

The combined authority has encouraged the two county and two city councils to introduce a new £100 planning application for homeowners applying for the pavement trenches, with current fees ranging between £250 and £450 between the councils.

These current fees were felt to potentially make the project “prohibitive”.

Currently, Nottinghamshire requests more money from residents if the pavement trenches are more than two metres in length.

The combined authority has encouraged the four councils to offer to waive fees or refund payments for people such as Motability customers.

Numerous “charging deserts” and charging “cold spots” have been identified across the two counties and cities, presenting particular problems for uptake and viability of electric vehicle use – most notably in the more rural areas of the counties.