England begins EV charging street works permits

If you’ve ever watched a new charger appear on your street and wondered who says yes, this is your moment to learn. On 12 March 2026 the Department for Transport made the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2026. From 13 March 2026, section 49 is in force in England, signed by Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State for Transport Simon Lightwood. In short, charge point operators can now install public chargers on the highway using street works permits rather than the old section 50 licensing route. (gov.uk)

Think of a commencement regulation as the “on” switch for an Act. Parliament passes the law, but many sections sleep until ministers set a start date in a short set of follow‑up rules called commencement regulations. Today’s switch brings section 49 to life so councils and companies can use processes that already manage most road digs to handle EV charging works too.

What changes in practice is the route to permission. Previously, an installer of a public charge point typically needed a New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 section 50 licence from the local highway authority. Under section 49 now in force, operators are brought into the existing street works permitting regime used for roadworks, which the Department for Transport consulted on and confirmed as policy. (gov.uk)

Why this matters for pace and price: ministers told MPs that typical section 50 licences can cost £500–£1,000 and take around 12 weeks, while permits usually cost £45–£130 and are approved in roughly two to five days. That time and cost gap is why this technical change could mean chargers arrive sooner and with less admin. (hansard.parliament.uk)

What stays the same is just as important. Highway authorities still control when and how works happen; roads must be reinstated properly; and safety rules continue to apply. Permits are applied for through Street Manager, the national online system already used by utilities and councils, which should make co‑ordination clearer and cut repeat digs. (hansard.parliament.uk)

Where this applies: these regulations sit under “Highways, England”, so the change covers works on public roads in England. Government papers during the Bill’s passage made clear the intention was to cover all local authorities in England, using the existing permitting framework they already run for roadworks. (publications.parliament.uk)

A quick planning note because it’s easy to mix things up. Planning permission and street works permission are different. Many home and workplace chargers already benefit from permitted development rights, meaning no full planning application is needed in common cases. Today’s change is about permission to dig up the street for public charge points, moving that from licences to permits. The Department for Transport’s consultation response explains the distinction and even flags that some councils had been asking for extra Highways Act permissions on top - a source of confusion this reform is meant to reduce. (gov.uk)

What this means on your street is less paperwork, better scheduling and, ideally, fewer long closures. Because permits sit in the same digital system as other roadworks, councils can line up EV charger installs alongside utility works and resurface jobs, so the pavement is opened once rather than again and again. That is the quiet prize here. (hansard.parliament.uk)

For teachers and students, this is a real‑world civics case study. We can trace a line from an Act of Parliament, to a consultation, to a short statutory instrument that “commences” one section, to the practical tool a council officer uses on Monday morning. It shows how small switches in law shape everyday infrastructure.

If you work in a school, college, or local group and want a quick classroom exercise, try mapping the steps in this story: Act passed; government consults; commencement regulation made; councils use permits; EV chargers appear. Then ask: who benefits, who decides, and how do we keep the roads safe while speeding up change? That’s how media literacy meets public policy in the real world.