EV street works permits start in England, 13 March 2026

From Friday 13 March 2026, the rules for digging up streets to install public EV charge points in England changed. A short commencement regulation made on Thursday 12 March switched on section 49 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, moving charge point installations from the old section 50 licensing route to the street works permit system used by utilities. The Act itself says sections 49 and 50 start on a day named in regulations made by the Secretary of State, which is what has now happened. (legislation.gov.uk)

If you’re reading this because your council, campus or workplace is planning kerbside chargers, here’s the plain version. This is not a brand‑new law so much as a green light: Parliament passed the Planning and Infrastructure Act in 2025; this week the government brought a specific bit into force to make installations simpler to manage and quicker to deliver.

So, what is a commencement regulation? Think of an Act as a toolkit and commencement as the moment you’re allowed to start using a particular tool. UK Parliament’s own glossary explains that commencement regulations bring parts of Acts into force at a later date, and Erskine May describes commencement as the point at which a provision takes legal effect. (parliament.uk)

What does section 49 actually change? It amends the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 so that works to place, maintain, adjust or remove a public charge point in a street in England can be done “in pursuance of a street works permit”. It also inserts a definition of “public charge point” (using the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018) and makes related tweaks to enforcement provisions. In short: charge point works can now sit inside the permit regime. (legislation.gov.uk)

Why does permit versus licence matter? Under the old setup, because charge point operators were not statutory undertakers, they had to seek a section 50 street works licence from the highway authority, often with extra steps like bonds and annual admin fees. Government guidance said as much, and the Department for Transport consulted in 2024 on bringing operators into the permitting world instead. That is now the model in law. (gov.uk)

Permits are designed for coordination. They run through a standard process with conditions, timings and notices that slot into the national Street Manager service-the digital system councils and utilities already use to plan and manage roadworks. That shared workflow is why policymakers expect fewer duplicated digs and faster approvals for short jobs like charger installs. (gov.uk)

What hasn’t changed are the safety and quality duties. Ministers told MPs during the Bill stage that all the existing New Roads and Street Works Act safeguards remain-think proper traffic management, reinstatement to the national standard and accountability if things go wrong. The legal shift is about the route to permission, not lowering the bar for how works are carried out. (hansard.parliament.uk)

There are clear limits to note. This change applies to streets in England and to public charge points-those available to everyone. It does not rewrite building regulations or the consumer‑facing requirements in the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, and it doesn’t replace the roles of electricity network companies where their statutory powers are needed for connections. (legislation.gov.uk)

For councils, the practical next step is straightforward: expect EV operators to come through your existing permit scheme rather than the section 50 inbox. Fees are set locally within national parameters and guidance; authorities publish their schedules and many follow the Department for Transport’s recommended structures and caps. Always check your local scheme’s pricing and any discounts for off‑peak works. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

For charge point operators, this should feel simpler. You’ll work inside the same permit process as other road works promoters and use Street Manager (or integrated software) to submit, track and amend applications. Some associated activities-like temporary road closures-may still require separate traffic orders, so plan for those alongside your permit. (gov.uk)

For drivers and residents, the promised benefit is practical: fewer repeat excavations on the same street and a quicker route to more reliable public charging. That is the policy goal set out by the Department for Transport when it proposed the shift to permits, and it is why this week’s commencement matters for the EV rollout you experience on the ground. (gov.uk)

If you want to dig deeper, Parliament has published the detailed Impact Assessment for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, setting out the expected time and cost savings across the system. It’s a useful resource for students and project leads who need the underlying numbers and assumptions. (publications.parliament.uk)