Electric vehicle charging in Leeds

The channel is installed by Kerbo Charge into the footway using an approved highways contractor for use by the homeowner who has made the application.

The homeowner uses the channel by lifting the lid and simply inserting their own electric charging cable into the channel and then closing the lid. They insert the cable a handful at a time and the self-closing lid snaps down shut behind, like a zip. The cable is only to be inserted when the resident is engaged in using the channel.

When they have finished charging, they should remove the cable by simply pulling it out along the length of the channel. The product has a self-closing lid so cannot be left open.

A tool designed to assist those users who are less able is also available from Kerbo Charge.

What cable does the charging channel take?

It takes a Type 2 cable up to 20mm in diameter.

Do you supply a wall-mounted charging unit?

No, the homeowner is responsible for organising that. They must either have a local earth spike installed at the property, or a professionally installed EV charger that has an in-built protective earth neutral (PEN) fault device.

How strong is the home EV charging channel?

Most of the unit is made from UV stable rigid PVC (the same material used for some utility covers) and is strong enough to withstand the pressure of a high heel and also a vehicle driving over it. It was tested by BSI to BS EN1433 and has UK CA and European CE safety marks.

Is my property suitable?

If you can park outside your property, and also access a ground floor power supply, then you are likely to be suitable.

If you have a grass verge between your house and the footway then installation is possible but is not recommended. Suitability will be subject to our discretion and would involve additional cost to yourself. It would require ground excavation and laying of a concrete base, which is often undesirable due to the loss of green space.

How to apply

You will need to contact Kerbo Charge, as our approved partner for this pilot, to arrange the assessment, purchase, installation and maintenance of the charging channel. 

Once you have noted all the information available here, you may contact Kerbo Charge and commence your application.

Costs

After completing the online application via the Kerbo Charge website, assuming it is confirmed that your site appears to meet the basic requirements, you will need to pay a non-refundable fee of £63.84 (including VAT) through Kerbo Charge to cover the cost of our undertaking an on-site survey of your property to further check its suitability.

If we consider your property location is suitable, Kerbo Charge will notify you that approval to proceed has been given. Should you then choose to go ahead you will then pay Kerbo Charge £1,250 (including VAT) for the supply and installation of the cable channel.

In addition, it will also be necessary for you, as homeowner, to enter into a licence with ourselves, in our role as Highway Authority under Section 178 of the Highways Act 1980, legally authorising the running of a charging cable across the footway. The licence fee of £349.68 is included within the charge of £1,250 (including VAT) and will be payable to ourselves.

Kerbo Charge charges you £4.99 a month from month 25 to cover all possible repair costs (including vandalism); this is necessary because the installations are in the public domain and funds must be put aside to pay for any repairs.

In some rare cases (if you have a particularly complex installation) there could be an additional fee to cover installation costs; this will be fully explained to you.

Currently, you can apply for a £350 central government grant once your EV charging channel is installed and you've also installed a home charger. Find out how to apply for the electric vehicle chargepoint grant on the government website.

Do I need planning permission?

As there are currently no ‘permitted development rights’ for on-street charging points, we recommend that you make a planning application. We encourage residents to make the switch to electric vehicles. Therefore, as the local planning authority, we will not regard it as expedient under current legislation to take enforcement action if an application is not made, and instead will issue a letter of comfort as long as all the points in the list below are met (should there be a future change in policy this may need to be reviewed):

• The property has been granted a s178 licence by the highway authority to use an approved cross-footway charging solution for the safe carriage of an electric vehicle charging cable across the pavement under this pilot.
• The electrical outlet must not be used until the approved cross-footway charging solution has been installed; the cross-footway solution must not be a temporary solution, such as cable covers or mats which can be placed on top of a cable.
• The electrical outlet and its casing do not overhang the highway or pavement by more than 100mm (including any cable plug when plugged into the unit).
• The criteria of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) are otherwise met; these are currently:
  • For an electrical outlet mounted on a wall for recharging electric vehicles (Schedule 2, Part 2, Class D), the outlet and its casing:
    • do not exceed 0.2 cubic metres
    • are not within a site designated as a scheduled monument
    • are not within the curtilage of a listed building

If you cannot comply with all the points in the list above, the local planning authority may regard it as expedient to take enforcement action against you.

Installation

The target installation time by Kerbo Charge is within 4 weeks of installation approval by ourselves and your payment of the installation fee required.

Guarantee

The manufacturer provides a 10-year product guarantee and a 2-year labour guarantee.

Parking your vehicle for charging

Vehicles should be parked as close to the property as possible. Where a vehicle cannot be parked immediately outside the property, the cable should be run along the carriageway channel against the kerb. The recommended maximum distance from a point outside the property is 10 metres (approximately 2 car lengths).

The cable must not cross the carriageway; therefore, your vehicle should always be parked on the same side of the road as your property. Any vehicle parked on the highway should always adhere to any local parking restrictions that may be in place and should not obstruct the footway.

What if someone has parked a vehicle outside my house?

Most charging cables are long enough to reach either one space up or one space down from directly outside your house. We find most residents just wait until the space becomes free and then move their car over.

If parking in your area is so congested that you cannot park outside your house at least once per week, then a home EV charging channel is probably not the best solution for you.

It is not possible to dedicate a parking bay outside of your property for your sole use.

Maintenance

You are responsible for regularly clearing out the channel and removing any leaves or dirt that accumulate in the channel.

You are responsible for ensuring the unit is correctly operated and your cable is correctly inserted. You are also responsible for any repairs.

Insurance

Under the Section 178 highway licence, you must indemnify ourselves against any claim in respect of injury, damage or loss arising from the use of your charging cable and the cable channel. As part of the application process, Kerbo Charge will check that you possess relevant public / third party liability insurance cover, through your car insurer, house insurer, or specialist third party insurer to cover liability, including cable trip claims. We may require evidence of the continuation of such cover at any time.

A power cable that trails across a footway is a potential trip hazard to the public, some of whom will be more at risk than others. It is also unlawful to run a cable across a footway or road without our permission as highway authority.

The installation of a charging channel mitigates the risk presented by charging cables running from a property to a vehicle trailing across the footway/highway. If a member of the public tripped and injured themselves due to a trailing cable, the homeowner could be prosecuted and there may also be liability under civil law.

Even where a charging channel has been installed, it is still important to consider public safety and to abide by Kerbo Charge guidance and the s178 highway licence conditions, when connecting the cable from the power supply in your home to your vehicle. Any legal liability arising from the placement of the cable remains the responsibility of the homeowner, which is why insurance cover is required.

Further advice

If you have any further questions regarding the cross-footway channel pilot, please contact our EV team or Kerbo Charge directly.