Stop Trailing Cables: The £3,500 Grant for Pavement Charging

Let’s hope you’re not one to be trailing a charging cable across the pavement.

You’re either not doing it (meaning you’re stuck paying a fortune on public chargers), or you are doing it and just waiting for someone to trip or the council to come knocking.

One of the biggest frustrations for EV owners is not having a driveway while neighbours can use lower-cost home charging and they must rely on more expensive public rapid chargers.

There is good news however, if you live in East Lothian, Perth and Kinross or Renfrewshire, there’s a new pilot grant that can fix this problem, and it’s a big one.

It’s up to £3,500 to get a safe, legal and permanent charging solution installed and running right from your house to the kerb.

What Is It That You Get?

For most people the best solution is a pavement gully. It’s a small channel that’s cut into the pavement, running from your property to the kerb. Your charging cable sits inside this channel, completely flush with the ground, so no trip hazards.

When you’re not using it, a little lid clicks into place. It’s a clean, simple and permanent fix.

Some streets aren’t suitable for a gully, so the council may point you to a pop-up kerbside bollard instead. It sits flush when not in use, then rises when you’re charging. Neater look, usually a bit pricier.

The main point is that it connects to your own home’s electricity. You can use ordinary home charging—currently around 7p per mile on a broad Energy Saving Trust comparison—or schedule within a cheaper EV-tariff window where available.

Quick reality check while we’re here. This only works when you’re parked near your own frontage. You’ll want a cable long enough for the usual parking spots outside your place, but you can’t run it across neighbours’ frontages or leave any slack across the path.

Eligibility At A Glance

You:

• live in East Lothian, Perth and Kinross, or Renfrewshire
• have no off-street parking. No driveway, no garage, no private space
• own, lease, or have an order in for a fully electric vehicle (not a plug-in hybrid)
• have a home charge point or will be installing one as part of the project
• have written council approval for a cross-pavement solution at your exact address

The Grant, The Nitty-Gritty

The pilot is run by Transport Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust. Here's a little breakdown for you:

The Scottish award can allocate up to £400 toward the chargepoint itself. A separate OZEV grant for households with on-street parking can cover 75% of eligible chargepoint costs, up to £500. Do not assume that both awards can fund the same cost: confirm the permitted combination with the Energy Saving Trust and OZEV before applying.

Does This Reserve Your Parking Space?

Nope! This grant does not reserve you a parking space. It’s still the public road. You can’t claim it as yours. It just means that when you get parked outside your house, you can safely plug your car into your own supply.

A quick heads-up on planning and permissions. Listed buildings, conservation areas, tenements/flats, adopted pavements or awkward utility layouts might need extra approvals. Nothing scary, just an extra step or two and we’ll flag it early so it doesn’t stall.

How To Apply

This is the important part.

Here’s the 5 Step Plan:

1. Talk to your council first. Call East Lothian, Perth & Kinross or Renfrewshire council. You need to get their approval in principle for a cross pavement solution at your specific address. Ask about “cross-pavement cable management” and if they have a policy or preferred products. This is non-negotiable.
2. Get a quote. Once the council has given you the green light, call an approved installer (JME Green Energy are happy to help with this) for a detailed quote. Ask for the cross-pavement work and the charger shown clearly.
3. Apply to the Energy Saving Trust. You’ll submit your online application, uploading your quote and your council approval. Keep your photos and documents tidy, you’ll need them later.
4. Wait. You must wait for your official grant offer letter to come via email. Reviews are often around 8 working days, so don’t panic if it’s not instant.
5. Install. After you have the letter you can call us to book the installation. When it’s done, submit your claim with the invoices and photos. Refunds are typically back in around 15 working days.

The whole process can take around 6-10 weeks, so it’s worth starting the process ASAP.

We Can Handle the Hassle.

Let us handle the hassle for you. We at JME Green Energy aren’t a faceless company, we’re based right here in Scotland. We’re not a bunch of marketers, we’re your straight talking, no jargon installers. We’re the ones that actually turn up to do the work.

We can:

• Give you the proper detailed quote that you need for the grant.
• Help you make sense of what the council needs.
• Install both the pavement gully or a pop-up bollard and your wall charger at the same time.
• And while we're at it, we can discuss solar panels or a home battery so more of your charging can use your own surplus generation.

This grant is a bit of a hassle, but the payoff is huge. Stop giving your money to public charge point companies.

Frequently Asked Questions