Electric vehicles and charging points

Electric vehicles and charging points

Greenhouse gas emissions arising from road transport including motorways in Three Rivers accounts for 228,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), which represents 52% of total district emissions. Three Rivers District Council are committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles to inspire and enable a net zero district by 2024.

Public charging points

Public charging points allow Three Rivers district residents and visitors to charge up in car parks and on-street parking locations. Find out where electric vehicle (EV) charging points are in Three Rivers and beyond using Zap Map.

Three Rivers District Council is supporting the rollout of public EV charging points in council owned car parks and on-street residential parking as part of its proposed Electric Vehicle Strategy.

We are working with the Highway Authority - Hertfordshire County Council - to identify locations where on-street charging may be appropriate and developing a process and set of rules to support the installation of chargers in on-street locations.

If you wish to register your interest in an electric vehicle charge point near to where you live, please fill out the short online form.

Charging points at home and work

Most people like to charge their electric vehicles at home or at their workplace, which is usually the cheapest option as you can use your own electricity supply (and renewables if you have them).

Most EV chargers will not need planning permission. However, planning permission may be required if you live in a listing building or if you don't have a driveway. Please check with our planning department before you install.

The Government offers grants to help you or your landlord to pay for your home car charger and other grants help your employer to install charge points at your workplace. Please visit the Government  Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

What if I have no driveway?

Residents may struggle to install home chargers because they don’t have a suitable parking space off the highway. In this instance, residents may be more reliant on public charging points. You  cannot place any electric vehicle charging cable across the pedestrian footway, even if it is covered by a cable cover or mat. You  cannot install a private charge point or a cable gully on the street outside your home. Only Hertfordshire County Council can authorise or install equipment on the pavement or the street.

Another option is to find a friendly neighbour who is willing to let you use their home charger. This can be arranged via a platform such as Zap-Home, BookMyCharge, Co-Charger and PlugShare.

More information on electric vehicles

Electric vehicles provide a multitude of benefits to drivers, other road users and the climate. There are now many models and options available if you want to drive an electric vehicle both on the new and used market. Electric vehicles are available with ranges of more than 400 miles and charging times of under 20 minutes for a 10% to 80% charge. All new electric vehicles sold in the UK benefit from a battery warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles.

Despite this, negative myths and assumptions about electric vehicles have circulated, resulting in the viability and benefits of the technology being misrepresented.

For more information on owning, running and charging an Electric Vehicle visit the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles here or the Energy Saving Trust here.