Currently reading: Critics warn against government's £25m for EV charging gullies

New solution should enable more to charge at home – but critics say it’s not viable

A government grant of £25 million to support new cross-pavement EV charging schemes has been hailed as a major boost to the take-up of electric cars by enabling households without a driveway to charge an EV cheaply on the road.

The cash will be spent on installing covered gullies that can carry a charge cable across a pavement to an EV parked on the road. It is hoped the solution will tackle a problem faced by around nine million UK homes and in turn drive up the uptake of EVs.

However, critics are worried the solution still has significant challenges to overcome, especially around running costs and usability, before it becomes a fully viable solution.

Many councils are already using the cash to roll out pilot schemes. Oxfordshire County Council, for example, has made £700,000 available for 500 gullies and money towards home chargers.

“A third of Oxfordshire households don’t have off-street parking, so we believe this could give residents the confidence to switch to an EV,” said the council’s environment chief councillor, Judy Roberts. “Being able to access home electricity rates and park in your usual spot are the sorts of things that are likely to make EV ownership a reality for many people.”

Dorset’s Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has approved a similar scheme, with almost 30% of households in the district lacking off-street parking.

However, councillors noted the limitations of the gullies, which will require owners to be able to secure a parking space within reach of their charge cable.

Kerb charging gully

Instead, “households will have to negotiate with their neighbours over use of the parking space”, said councillor Andy Hadley.

Back to top

Gully suppliers such as Kerbo Charge say that most cables can reach an adjoining space.

There are also financial issues. For example, despite the government’s support, households must still contribute to the cost of applying for, installing and maintaining the gully. In the case of Oxfordshire’s scheme, residents must pay £300 for a two-year licence.

After that, households need to pay an annual fee of £100 to cover ‘operating costs’. The householder is also responsible for the pavement’s reinstatement should they move or no longer require the gully.

These costs are unavoidable: Oxfordshire County Council and others say that, for safety reasons, people can’t install a gully themselves or have it privately arranged.

Defending the costs, a council spokesperson said it is roughly equal to what, in 12 months, a household would save charging at home compared with using a public charger.

Join our WhatsApp community and be the first to read about the latest news and reviews wowing the car world. Our community is the best, easiest and most direct place to tap into the minds of Autocar, and if you join you’ll also be treated to unique WhatsApp content. You can leave at any time after joining - check our full privacy policy here.

Join the debate

Comments
10
Add a comment…
HereWeGoAgain 30 August 2025

More 1/2 bottomed clutching at straws bodgey 'solutions'.  All so well considered from the outset.  And not to mention the gross profiteering of 'public' kwh charging, one has to wonder who thinks that companies charging upto £0.90, for a kwh isnt rather gross as opposed to a 'service charge per use for teh infrastructure and a real network cost of kwh elec. And of course thats without the taxation that would be commensurate (replace the lost revenue) for electric milage compared to ICE.  Isn't it going to be interesting how the government brains will have to recover the revenue lossed as ICE , fuel duty and vat declines..!

scotty5 29 August 2025

Well at least someone is trying to tackle the problem. 

If I applied the 'limitations' to myself, it would be a problem and I'd certainly have one. But what's the frig'n point if when adding in the associated costs, it works out the same price as charging it at a public charger. The majority of these public chargers would cost me more to run an EV than it would an ICE. 

The ban on sales of new fully ICE cars cannot take place until someone comes up with a credible infrastruture solution.

PS Openreach are currently working on a problem at the other end of our street. They've had the pavement dug up for almost a week. If they dig up the gully that I'm being charged for, do I get compensated?  Too many problems associated with this idea. 

Stockholm Calling 29 August 2025

The headline of this article is ''Critics warn against governments £25m plan for EV charging gullies', then fails to mention a single critic in the article!  

Andrew1 29 August 2025
It's the general opposition paper approach: we need to criticise so we pretend others criticise and we just report about it.
Marc 29 August 2025

Local councillors (aka plastic politicians) arguing at local levels rather than coming up with a viable strategy to deliver home charging.