Boris Johnson announces all new homes must have EV charging points

This week in a somewhat unusual speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Boris Johnson announced all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces, will be required by law to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

This policy change, which will take effect from next year, will lead to an additional 145,000 EV charging points every year. Commenting on this new initiative the Prime Minister said, “This is a pivotal moment – we cannot go on as we are. We have to adapt our economy to the green industrial revolution”.

Under the new measures any building undergoing large scale renovations which has over 10 parking spaces will also be required to install EV charge points.

This new policy is to be expected, following the government’s announcement earlier this year the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will end in 2030. This will likely cause the demand for electric cars to increase making it a priority for the government to ensure people can charge their vehicles at home.  Already UK sales of electric vehicles are increasing at 70% a year and we can expect this to sustain as 2030 approaches.

But what does it mean for developers? For many, the inclusion of electric vehicle charging points will not be a new prospect. Many developments already make some provision for electric charging points and it has increasingly become a talking point and area of interest during consultations.

Just this month West Sussex County Council announced the largest EV charge point roll-out by a local authority to provide public access on-street charging as part of the EV strategy the council adopted in December 2019.

The difference now for developers is the scale. With all homes required to include EV charging points this will lay additional costs at the feet of developers, making them have to pass that cost onto first time buyers.