Yes — many councils accept suggestions from residents about where on-street chargers should go, and asking costs nothing. But a request is not an application with an entitlement attached: the council or its operating partner decides, using street space, grid capacity and evidence of demand, and the timetable is theirs. Think of it as registering demand in the right place, not booking an installation.
Key Takeaways
- You can ask your council for an on-street charger, and asking costs nothing.
- The request registers demand; the council and its operator decide on space, grid capacity and fairness.
- Several households asking together is stronger evidence than one driver asking alone.
- A street charger stays public — never a reserved bay — so weigh the cross-pavement route at your own frontage too.
Who Actually Puts a Charger on a Street
An on-street charge point is a small piece of public infrastructure. Typically the local authority owns the programme, a charge point operator installs and runs the units under contract, and the electricity network operator provides the connection. That chain is why no request can promise an outcome: the charger must fit the pavement, the power supply and the operator’s network plan at once.
How to Make the Request
- Find the right door first. Most councils publish an EV charging page; many run a request form or a map where residents can suggest locations. Search your council’s site for “charge point request” before writing a general email.
- Give the facts that decide it: your street and postcode, where cars park overnight, and the point that matters most — the households there have no off-street parking, so there is no home-charging alternative.
- Show it is not just you. A request carrying several households on the street reads as demand. Ask neighbours with EVs — or expecting one — to submit their own.
- Ask about lamp-post and kerbside programmes specifically. Many areas convert lamp posts or install small kerbside posts in residential streets; asking by name gets you into the right queue.
- Keep the receipt. Note the reference or reply: programmes are funded in rounds, and streets suggested early are assessed when new funding lands.
What Decides Whether It Happens
| Factor | What they check |
|---|---|
| Street space | Pavement width and pedestrian access — a charger and a parked car cannot block the footway |
| Grid capacity | Whether the local feeder and connection point can support chargers without major works |
| Proven demand | How many nearby households lack driveways, plus usage at the chargers already installed nearby |
| Funding rounds | Whether money is currently allocated; a good street can still wait for the next round |
While You Wait: the Route That May Be in Your Own Hands
If your house fronts the pavement where you park, you may not need a public charger at all. GOV.UK publishes guidance on running an EV charging cable across the pavement, and cross-pavement channels set into the footway exist for terraced streets — your own wallbox and your own electricity, with the council’s consent for the channel instead of a wait for public infrastructure. Meanwhile workplace and public charging carry the load — and a street-parked car loses charge slowly, as our explainer on whether an EV battery drains when parked sets out, so a weekly charge goes further than most new owners expect.
The Hardware That Ends Up on Streets Like Yours
Residential kerbside charging is usually networked AC: posts or lamp-post units drivers start with an app or card. The pattern is the same one behind units like the EVDANCE EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC charging station — two connectors, RFID access and OCPP 1.6J network management — installed where cars dwell for hours, as on our commercial charging page. Asking for that kind of slow, overnight provision — not a rapid hub — is the realistic request for a residential street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it cost anything to ask for a charger on my street?
Asking is free — it is a suggestion into a public programme, not a purchase. If a charger is installed, you pay for the electricity you use, at the operator’s public tariff, like any other driver.
If the council installs one outside my house, is it reserved for me?
No. An on-street charger is public infrastructure: any driver can use it, and the bay is not yours. That is the trade at the heart of the request — you gain charging near home, not a private space.
How long does a request take?
There is no honest single answer: it depends on funding rounds, the grid connection and the council’s rollout plan, and it runs on programme timescales, not weeks. Treat the request as registering your street for the next assessment, and use public or workplace charging meanwhile.
Related Reading
- Can You Run an EV Charging Cable Across the Pavement? (UK)
- EV Charging News: New South Wales Offers A$16.5 Million for Kerbside and Fleet Chargers
- Does an EV Battery Drain When Parked?
- Can You Charge an EV With a Portable Battery or Power Bank?
