Bid for homeowner to install private EV charger on public footpath rejected

A village homeowner’s bid to install his own electric car charger after he claimed it was cheaper and more reliable than his nearest public one has been rejected by planners.

The owner of the house on Pathhead’s High Street had argued that while he did not have a driveway he owned the land immediately in front of his house and considered it ‘off road parking’.

However a report by Midlothian Council planning officers said Transport Scotland had objected to the plans saying the area of land was part of the public footpath and could not have cable trailed over it between a charger and vehicle.

In their report they stated: “Transport Scotland have advised that they would object to cars parking on /cables associated with the proposed EV charger trailing over the tarmacked area directly outside (the house) and to cars parking on /cables associated with the proposed EV charger trailing over the area covered in paviours outside of no. 39 adjacent to the A68 trunk road.”

The applicant had insisted that the area at the front of the property was not part of the pavement running along the High Street pointing out other home owners along the road also parked on the space immediately outside their front doors.

He said: “Having taken the plunge and purchased a hybrid EV it is essential that I am able to install a dedicated EV charger at my property. This will speed up the charging and will be significantly cheaper than using public charging points.

“There are currently two public charging points in the village, however these are located about one mile from my property and have been out of action for many months.”

Rejecting the application to install the charger planners said: “Whilst the planning authority is generally supportive of measures which help to address climate change, this does not outweigh road safety concerns and, as such, planning permission should be refused on the foregoing grounds.”