What does Approved Document Part S Apply to?
This document applies to the following building types:
- Residential
(New buildings, new dwellings resulting from change of use or residential buildings undergoing major renovation work)
- Non-residential
(New buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation work)
- Mixed-use buildings
(New buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation work)
The number of spaces that must have access to electric vehicle charge points varies depending on the type of development. Any spaces which are not provided with access to a charge point must still be provided with cable routes ready to supply power to a charge point in future.
In this article, we will focus on residential buildings. If this isn’t for you, stay tuned as we will provide a follow-up article on non-residential and mixed-use buildings!
What are the Requirements?
Approved Document Part S sets out some shared characteristics for all charge points provided:
- The minimum charger output must be 7kW
- Chargers must be fitted with an indicator to show the equipment’s charging status
- Chargers must be fitted with a universal socket, also known as an untethered charge point, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as a self-build home
The cost of installation is capped at an average of £3,600 per point, or no more than 7% of the development’s budget (depending on development type). If the cost of installing a charge point exceeds this, then cable routes should still be provided even if the charge point itself is not provided.
The requirements only apply to associated parking. This is parking dedicated to the development, within the curtilage or within the land ownership of the development and intended to be used to meet any parking requirements. It does not apply to new provision on the public highway; however, EV contributions for off-site provision may still be requested through a S106 agreement.
Regulations also apply differently to covered and uncovered parking. The regulations apply to uncovered parking first where there is a mix of provision. For example, in a scheme which has both surface level and podium parking, the regulation applies active charging to the surface level parking first, and depending on the total parking ratio and quantum, additional active or passive parking may also be applied to the podium.
Where all of the proposed parking is covered, the regulations require passive provision, and may not require active charging.
Change of Use to Residential
The requirement to provide active charging in change of use to residential schemes depends on whether:
- Any works are proposed to existing parking or electrical infrastructure within the site boundary (e.g., adding or rearranging parking in a manner subject to a planning application, including resurfacing)
- If EV charging can be accommodated within the building’s existing electric supply and the maximum that can be accommodated without requiring an upgrade. This will need to be evidenced and passive provision may still be required.
- If the building is Grade Listed, in a conservation area, or a scheduled ancient monument, the regulations may not apply.
- If parking is covered or uncovered.
Where new residential dwellings are added to existing buildings through a change of use, there is no need to ‘upgrade’ existing parking. The regulations apply only to parking associated with the proposed uplift, or any new parking.
Major Renovations
For major residential renovations, sites which will have more than 10 associated parking spaces after renovation must comply with the regulations, with many of the same caveats as above. Residential renovation schemes are also exempt where:
- The cost to comply exceeds 7% of the total renovation cost; or
- Renovation is for the purpose of improving fire safety.
Where do the Charge Points go?
Approved Document Part S recommends that charging points are located at one corner of a parking space, or if the charger can charge more than one vehicle at a time, it should be located in a position where the total number of cars that can be charged are able to access the charge point at the same time.
For spaces that do not need to provide charge points from the outset, the cable routes should be provided from a metered electricity supply point to the future connection location. This future connection location should be clearly marked and have space to install and maintain a charge point in future.
How does this apply to planning?
At present, the Regulations in Approved Document Part S are not represented in most London planning policies – the London Plan 2021 still defers to a less specific requirement of 20% active and 80% passive for residential development, for example. Outside of London, many local plans include similar types of policy, such as 5% of EV charging enabled spaces.
Whilst the local plan standards can be used for the purposes of a planning application, Approved Document Part S ultimately carries more weight and must be applied in the implementation of any scheme.
This is especially pertinent where parking layouts are very constrained – testing layouts at the planning stage for EV infrastructure may be crucial. Too often we have seen schemes where even with the local plan policy, consideration of the bulk of EV charging equipment was not considered until late in the development, post planning or at the point of attempting to implement. With covered parking schemes, this can result in a lengthy delay and additional cost where plans need to be revised. It may even impact on structure moving up the building or require additional space to be factored in around disabled parking and footways passing parking spaces.
The Document sets out the dimensions of standard wall-mounted and freestanding charge points.
Given the uplift in demand placed by Approved Document Part S, it is worth frontloading an application by assessing this requirement within the masterplan as it develops, and within any cost analysis. For larger schemes, an M&E consultant may be needed to determine the load that EV parking may place on the electrical supply system.
As with all regulations, we recommend close reading and consultation of the documents, and seeking professional advice.
In our next article, we’ll set out how the Document S regulations apply to non-residential uses, so watch this space!
By Annika Davies and Sarah Chapman
