Ryan, RM Electrical NAPIT registered electrician, South Wales
Plenty of houses in the Rhondda, Pontypridd and older parts of Cardiff and Barry have no driveway. The car is on the street, usually right outside, and the question is always the same: can I charge it at home?
Often, yes. But not by running a cable across the pavement, and not without the council agreeing first.
Why you cannot just run a cable across the pavement
A charging cable lying across a footpath is a trip hazard, and the pavement is not yours. It belongs to the highway authority, which for most of us is the local council. Leaving a cable across it can land you in trouble if someone falls over it, and councils generally advise against it.
Cable protectors, the rubber ramps you see outside some houses, are not a fix either. They are still something on the pavement to trip over.
What does work: a cross-pavement channel
A cross-pavement solution is a narrow channel set into the pavement with a cover, so the cable sits flush and nothing is left on the surface. When the car is not charging, you cannot tell it is there.
These have to be agreed with the council, because they are works in the highway. Some councils run schemes, some are trialling them, and some do not allow them yet. What your council will agree to is the first thing to find out, before anything else is spent.
The on-street grant
From 1 April 2026 there is a government grant of up to £500 for households that only have on-street parking and are fitting a cross-pavement solution alongside the charger. It runs until 31 March 2027.
The main conditions:
- You live in the property, whether you own it or rent it
- You only have on-street parking
- A cross-pavement solution is being installed with the charger
- It is applied for through an approved installer before the charger is fitted. It cannot be backdated.
Grant details checked against GOV.UK on 22 September 2026.
What about planning permission?
In Wales, a wall-mounted charger is permitted development only in an area used for off-street parking, and not where it faces onto a road within two metres of it. A charger on the front wall of a terraced house, directly onto the pavement, is exactly the case that falls outside that. So expect the council to be involved on the planning side as well as the highway side.
The steps, in order
- Ask your council what it allows for cross-pavement charging on your street. This decides everything else.
- Check the grant if you only have on-street parking.
- Get the install priced. The charger itself is the same job as on a driveway, from £850 + VAT (£1,020 inc VAT) fitted. The channel and any council fees are on top and depend entirely on the scheme.
- Book the install once the permission and any grant approval are in place.
The EV charger estimator has an “on the street outside” option. It prices the charger and marks the pavement side as one for a conversation, because it genuinely is.
If it is not possible yet
If your council does not allow a channel on your street yet, the usual options are a public charger nearby, or charging at work. It is also worth asking your council whether an on-street charge point is planned for your street, because many Welsh councils are adding them.
Questions people ask
Can I get a charger if I rent?
Yes, with your landlord’s permission. If you rent and have private off-street parking, there is a separate grant of up to £500 for renters and flat owners.
Does it matter which side of the road I park?
Yes. A channel only works if you can park reliably outside your own house. If parking on your street is a free-for-all, that is worth thinking about before spending anything.
No prices on this page are guesses, because there are none. Ryan prices every job himself, in writing, after seeing it.