Currently Electric Vehicle (EV) charging cables trailing across or under the public highway are prohibited across Sefton. Charging your vehicle on the street by trailing a cable across the pavement, including the use of a cable protector, channel, gully or ramp is not permitted.
Cables trailing across the pavement, even with a cable protector, channel, gully or ramp is considered a health and safety hazard. It is an obstacle for the visually and or mobility impaired and or other affected user groups.
Under the Highways Act 1980 action may be taken to remove cables that are deemed unsuitable or unsafe.
Charging your EV by trailing cables is not considered a suitable approach for residents without off-street parking provision to charge their EV. This is in line with current government guidance.
Report a charging cable crossing the footway, even with the use of channels, gullys or cable covers through our Highways Issues Reporting page.
Publicly Available On-Street Charging
Sefton Council will be permitting lamp post and / or bollard charging at specified locations which have obtained the correct permissions, noting not all lamp post will be suitable.
When used, cables must be stored correctly so that they do not cross the footway and cause a trip hazard to others.
Sefton Council’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy
Sefton Council is developing an Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (ECVI) Strategy. It sets out the Council’s approach to supporting the delivery of charging points across Sefton and our role as a Council.
Our strategy will focus on providing a public network across community spaces and carparks.
Currently the main Vision and Objectives of this strategy is available to comment on 'Your Sefton Your Say' here.
Funding
We have been working with partners across the Liverpool City Region on funding opportunities including the Local Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (LEVI) funding.
LEVI funding:
- Is to support homes without off-street parking and is not funded by Sefton Council Tax.
- Is a regionally funded project.
- Is £9.6m for the entire Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for across the region. Sefton Council should receive £1.6 m of this as the funding will be split across Merseyside Local Authorities.
- Is not for a free charging point. The funding is to deliver charging points across the region with a usage tariff once installed to provide charging infrastructure for those without off-street parking.
Using the EVCI Strategy, the Council will be delivering publicly available On-Street Parking.
Future Rollout
The EVCI Strategy will inform the decisions around where to put public charging points. It will also help develop an EV charger roll out plan for the next couple of years.
Residential Charging Provision
Sefton Council Highway Authority cannot currently support the installation of privately owned charge points on, adjacent to, or over the public highway, also known as cross-pavement charging solutions. This is in line with Sefton Council and Liverpool City Region guidelines.
We want to ensure there are lots of places to charge EVs in Sefton and are prioritising areas to add publicly available charging where residents can’t charge at home, like with those who don’t have access to off-road parking or a private driveway.
Visit the Government website for information on Electric Vehicle charge point grants.