Cross-pavement electric vehicle charging trial has begun

Charging an electric vehicle at home will be made a lot easier thanks to a cross-pavement electric vehicle charging channel trial.

The council has received £130,000 from the Department for Transport’s Electric Vehicle Pavement Channels Grant (EVPCG) to deliver the scheme to improve access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure at home.

The cross-pavement channel allows residents to install a cable gully into the pavement outside their home and easily charge on the street without causing hazards.

This is the only approved method for running a charging cable across a public footway and could save residents around £4,000 per year compared to using public charging.

The first installations, for residents without a driveway, have been made by Kerbo Charge, our partner for this scheme, on 12 August.

There will initially be a one-year trial period, to include 20 installations.

Residents who are accepted as part of the trial will be required to pay £399 towards the installation costs and arrange installation of their own wall-mounted EV charger.

The most suitable properties are those where you can usually park outside your home, and you can access a ground-floor electricity supply.

Through this scheme, they plug into their home charger, feed the EV cable through the cross-pavement channel and plug into their vehicle on-street. The channel is flush to the pavement, to prevent trip hazards.

Councillor Nadeem Khawar, lead member for environment and public realm, said: “This is an exciting trial, and we are grateful to have received the funding to do it.

“Having no driveway will no longer be a barrier to home charging. The cross-pavement channel is unobstructive to those using the pavement and creates easy access for home charging.

“We have a great network of electric vehicle infrastructure in Slough already, and home charging is becoming more popular. We hope the trial goes well and we can expand it further in time.”

Kerbo Charge Co-Founder, Michael Goulden, said: "We're delighted to be working with Slough Borough Council on this trial. At its heart, this is about giving residents more choice in how they charge their electric vehicle and helping remove the barriers that can put people off making the switch.

“We're excited to see more Slough residents make the move to electric in the months ahead."  

The environmental quality team at the council will monitor the success of the first 20 installations, before expanding the scheme more widely.

Find out more about the trial on the council’s webpage and find FAQs on Kerbo Charge’s website.

To be part of the trial, apply via Kerbo Charge’s website.

Once the initial 20 applications are accepted, other applications will be put onto a waiting list.

For any queries relating to the scheme, please email EnvironmentalQuality@slough.gov.uk