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Hertfordshire County Council


Zap Map - Map of electric vehicle charging points
View it online or download their smartphone app.

Each point on the map includes:

  • the types of plugs available
  • how to pay
  • how to report a fault - contact details for each provider.

Depending on where you are in Hertfordshire, you might find charging points in public or business car parks, petrol stations and on-street parking bays. Check for maximum stay limits or additional parking fees.

Neighbourhood charger sharing
Services like Zap-Home, Co Charger and Place2Park allow neighbours to rent each other's chargepoints.

 


Installing your own chargepoint

Planning permission


In most cases you won't need any, as they are 'permitted developments'. You might need planning permission if the chargepoint will be:

  • near a road or listed building
  • a wall-mounted unit bigger than 0.2 cubic metres
  • a ground mounted unit over 1.6m tall.

 

Who you need to inform


Once you have chosen a certified installer, ask them to:

  • notify your electricity 'distribution network operator' (DNO)
  • confirm the installation complies with building regulations and provide a Building Regulations Completion Certificate.

You don't need to notify the highways authority.

GOV.UK offers more advice on registering an electric vehicle chargepoint.

 

 

Visit the Electric Vehicle Consumer Code to find out more about:

  • benefits of home chargepoints
  • planning permission and requirements for home chargepoints
  • finding a certified installer and questions you should ask them
  • choosing a chargepoint
  • standard 3-pin wall sockets vs. dedicated EV chargepoints
  • steps for getting a chargepoint installed on your driveway
  • how much home charging costs and how long it takes.


How to charge with renewable energy - follow these tips from the WWF or use the WhenToPlugin app to charge when clean energy is available.


Cables across pavements

You cannot run private charging cables across public roads, pavements and paths:

  • They would create an obstruction and trip hazard for others using the pavement. We need to keep them safe and accessible for everyone.
  • They would also breach electrical safety standards and are unlikely to be covered by public liability insurance.

We also don't currently permit cable covers or recessed cable gullies due to liability and maintenance issues, although we are monitoring trials taking place in other areas.

If you see incidences of this, please report to Countywide.LicenceandEnforcement@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

 


Our strategy

The government is giving us £6,735,000 from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) for the roll-out of public charging infrastructure. Our strategy outlines how we plan to use it:

Electric vehicle charging strategy (PDF 1.82mb)

Summary of the electric vehicle charging strategy (PDF 1.16mb)

Developed with district and borough councils. We aim to work together to deliver a more comprehensive, accessible and efficient EV charging network across Hertfordshire. If you need these documents in a different format, please contact us.

We've planned a hierarchy of charging options:

  1. Off-street charging hubs in council-owned car parks. Open to all and near town centres, so you can shop while you wait. Potential for overnight charging for nearby residents
  2. Off-street charging hubs on publicly owned land
    We're reviewing locations near residential areas and main roads, where there's a lack of current chargepoints and potentially high demand.
  3. On-street chargepoints. Where off-street options aren't possible or can't meet demand.
     

Timeline for roll-out

 
  • The government has approved our funding application. They will give us 90% of our funding and we can begin looking for a contractor.
  • We must submit our draft contract to the government for review and approval by September 2024.
  • Once the government approves our draft contract, we can sign the contract and the government will give us the final 10% of our funding.


On-street charging points

We recognise that there's appetite from residents for on-street chargepoints near their homes, but there are more challenges to providing on street chargepoints so we have to carefully consider their locations. We are currently working with district and borough councils to:

  • identify locations where on-street charging may be appropriate
  • develop a process and set of rules to support installing chargers in these locations.
     

We can't provide on-street chargepoints for individuals.
 

If you find it difficult to access a chargepoint in your local area, let us know where you are. We'll include your location in our mapping data, which we'll use to identify potential future chargepoint locations.

 

Our criteria for potential on-street chargepoints

We will consider installing on-street chargers where:

  • there are obvious gaps in existing provision and there is potential demand
  • residents do not have access to driveways or off-street parking
  • there are no nearby off street car parks
  • there are no existing publicly available chargepoints within approx. 5 mins walk or 400m.


Read our electric vehicle strategy for more rules and criteria for potential on-street chargepoints.

 

Charging from streetlights


We do allow electric vehicle charging from our streetlights, but it is difficult in Hertfordshire. Many of our streetlights are not suitable for charging as the columns are from older stock, so they:

  • do not have the space or electric capacity for chargers
  • are positioned at the back of footpaths.

We are working with district and borough councils to identify potential locations for on-street chargepoints and we'll also look at the potential for connections to streetlights where possible. This will depend on the type of light, its power supply, local grid capacity, local parking restrictions and the position of the lamp column.

 

 


If you receive mobility allowance...

 
If you receive mobility allowance, Motability can arrange and cover the cost of a home chargepoint and a standard installation, if you have your own off-street parking.

 


Government grants


Grant schemes for charging points (GOV.UK) including:

  • electric vehicle chargepoint grant - up to 75% off the cost of installing a chargepoint at certain properties.
  • workplace charging scheme - £350 per socket, for up to 40 chargepoints for your employees or fleet.
  • grants for landlords including chargepoint and infrastructure grants.


Plug-in vehicle grant (GOV.UK):
You don't need to apply - if you buy or lease an eligible vehicle, the car dealer should include it as a discount on the price.


Tax benefits for electric vehicles (GOV.UK):
Including Benefit in Kind, vehicle excise duty, salary sacrifice schemes and capital allowance.

 


Short-term hire - car clubs

Try before you buy with an electric vehicle car club.

Car club vehicles are parked in local charging bays for quick access. To hire one, simply unlock it with a mobile app, then drive away. You can pay by the minute, hour or day through the app. You'll get instructions on where to return it when you're done.

  • Enterprise - hybrid vehicle hire in Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield.

 


Contact us

If you have any queries about our current position on the proposed EV charging network in Hertfordshire, email us:

EVstrategy@hertfordshire.gov.uk

 

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