Electric vehicle cable channel (EVCC) pilot programme
The County Council is continuing to trial electric vehicle (EV) cable channels across the county to enable residents, without off-street parking provision, the ability to charge their vehicle outside their home using a domestic EV charge point.
What is the EVCC pilot programme?
The trials enable eligible households, without off-street parking provision, the opportunity to have a cable channel installed outside their property to extend EV charging cables from an off-highway domestic EV home charge point to the public highway, through a discreet and safe conduit, without creating a trip hazard to road users or adding to street clutter.
The County Council successfully bid for Pilot Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to help deliver the EV cable channel pilot programme, which launched in February 2023.
While households taking part in the EV cable channel pilot will need to fund the installation of an approved domestic EV charge point on their property, securing the pilot LEVI funding means the County Council is able to fund the installation costs for the EV cable channels (up to 2m).
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for the trial you must either have, or plan to have, a smart EV charge point installed at the property and in conjunction with an EVSE charging cable prior to the installation of an EV cable channel. This must be installed by an approved Office for Zero Emission Vehicles authorised installer.
The criteria is listed in greater detail below. Once you have read this, click the link below and complete a short form to see if you are eligible to participate in the scheme.
EVCC essential eligibility (entry requirement)
To be eligible for participation in the EV cable channel pilot programme, applicants must:
1. Own or lease an EV including battery EV (BEV), hybrid EV (PHEV) and extended-range EV (E-REV).
- Nottinghamshire County Council will accept pending purchase/lease agreements, documentation must be provided to Nottinghamshire County Council upon request
2. Have no access to off-street parking provision including a driveway, forecourt, communal parking, garage (either adjacent to the property or elsewhere) or a similar off-street area to park the EV.
- Households with parking provisions including limited off-street parking (i.e., one off-street parking space but multiple vehicles) will not be considered for the pilot scheme
3. Have a smart EV charge point installed at the property (installed by an approved Office of Zero Emission Vehicles authorised installer) and in conjunction with an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) charging cable prior to the installation of an EV cable channel.
- The Permission is subject to the applicant complying with the Government’s current minimum technical specification for EV charging points
- The Permission is subject to the applicant complying with the Government’s approved EV charge point installer list
- The Permission is subject to the applicant complying with The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021
4. Seek advice and obtain appropriate planning permission (if required) from the Local Planning Authority (district/ borough council) prior to the installation of a smart EV charge point at their property.
- Planning permission may not be required to install external wall-mounted EV charge points at residential properties, but households should contact their Local Planning Authority to seek clarification
- Households wishing to install charge points on listed buildings (whether internally or externally) would almost certainly require Listed Building Consent from the Local Planning Authority (district/ borough council)
5. Have permission from the landowner/ property owner to install EV charging infrastructure if they do not own the property.
- Appropriate written permission from landowner/ property owner must be provided to Nottinghamshire County Council upon request
6. Have access to private electrical supply, at ground floor level, for charging the EV.
- EV cable channels are not suitable for those living in a flat/apartment above ground level
7. Agree to take part in programme monitoring for the duration of the pilot scheme, such as providing data on usage, etc.
- Nottinghamshire County Council intends to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from participants of the EV cable channel pilot scheme. This is essential when assessing the success of the EV cable channel pilot scheme and its potential future roll-out on a permanent basis
- Wherever possible, participants will be provided with data monitoring templates, surveys etc. electronically via email
Unfortunately, households unable to fulfil all seven of the essential criteria for the EV cable channel pilot programme listed above are not eligible to participate and therefore cannot be considered.
Key information to consider:
Please click on the questions in the table below for more information.
Pilot LEVI funding secured by the County Council will cover the cost of installing EV cable channels up to 2m wide.
Where an EV cable channel needs to be wider than 2m, a tailored quote will be provided to the householder, and any additional costs will need to be met by the applicant household wishing to have it installed.
Each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis as it is recognised that they may not be a suitable solution for some properties, e.g., where parking is not permitted or would be inappropriate, or in certain heritage conservation areas.
Applications will therefore require a site inspection to assess their suitability.
EV cable channels will also be delivered on a first-come, first-served basis. Households submitting an expression of interest to the County Council by completing the request form will be contacted as a priority, in chronological order based on the date the form was submitted.
All EV cable channels will be delivered by Via East Midlands, the County Council’s delivery partner.
The householder will be responsible for ensuring the cable channel is kept clear of any debris and that their electric vehicle charging equipment does not generate any electrical hazard, obstruction, or trip hazard to any highway users. The charging cable must be removed and stored off the public highway as soon as possible after each charge.
The householder should check the EV cable channel regularly for any signs of wear, rust, or corrosion, and must ensure that any defects are reported promptly to the team at Via East Midlands Ltd.
If the EV cable channel is not satisfactorily maintained, is not operated correctly, or is found to cause a hazard for wider road users, the County Council may commission Via East Midlands Ltd to reinstate the footway.
The Council does not intend to remove cable channels after the trial has ended i.e., the resident can continue to use the cable channel after the end of the trial period.
Having an EV cable channel installed does not guarantee parking outside your property as a dedicated parking bay outside the property won’t be provided as part of the trial.
This would reduce limited on-street parking capacity for residents and visitors throughout the day at locations where there are already parking pressures, and as the EV charge point would be used exclusively by one household a reserved bay is not considered appropriate.
The required off-highway domestic EV charge point (funded privately by the household) will be installed on the household’s private land by an approved OZEV installer and will utilise the existing household’s energy supply (using lower capacity and cheaper ‘slow’ or ‘fast’ chargers and overnight tariffs when the electricity is cheaper).
It is not proposed that the County Council will take ownership of this equipment but that the householder will retain ownership of the domestic EV charge point located on their premises.
Given these ownership arrangements, the ongoing future maintenance liability for the EV charge point will fall to the property owner and therefore there will not be any ongoing/future public maintenance liability.
