Barry White
In a change to building regulations from June 2022, all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets or workplaces built in England, are required to have electric vehicle (EV) charging points installed. Any new building developments with associated parking must have access to EV charge points. It is hoped that the new rules about EV chargers in new build homes will lead to the installation of an additional 145,000 charge points every year.
The Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) England, which acts as the voice of electric vehicle drivers, has welcomed the move to mandate the installation of charging infrastructure in new homes and buildings.
However, the move was not welcomed by some of Britain’s biggest house builders who, according to The Guardian privately lobbied the government to scrap the rules (see: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/12/housebuilders-lobbied-against-plan-for-electric-car-chargers-in-new-homes-in-england#:~:text=Automotive%20industry-,Housebuilders%20’lobbied%20against%20plan%20for%20electric%20car,in%20new%20homes%20in%20England’&text=Britain’s%20biggest%20housebuilders%20privately%20lobbied,in%20England%2C%20documents%20have%20revealed. Details came about as a result of freedom of information disclosures obtained by the newspaper.
According to Guardian journalist Jasper Jolly, FTSE 100 construction firms Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey were among the companies who argued against the policy in responses to an official consultation seen by the Guardian. The “blatant lobbying efforts” were criticised by Transport & Environment, a campaign group.
The rules requiring all new homes to have a charger were announced by the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in November 2021 as the flagship policy of a speech to business leaders. However, Jasper Jolly writes that; “… the housebuilders who responded stated their opposition to the policy, citing cost concerns. They also warned that mandating installation could lock homeowners into obsolete technology, that there could be a risk of electric shocks with some car chargers, and even that the plan could prevent owners from choosing between cars with different plug types used in Asia and Europe…”
Concerns about costs were a common theme in the housebuilders’ warnings and Taylor
The Guardian article reports that spokespeople for Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey said they supported moves to encourage electric vehicle adoption. The companies are now installing charging points in line with the law.
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