Drivers with no driveway will be able to charge at home through a pavement channel. The first 240 or so pay £1,231.15 upfront, then about £4.15 a month.

Electric car owners in Trafford who park on the street will be able to charge from home through a channel cut into the pavement. The council’s Executive approved a one-year trial on Monday 19 October.

The cable runs from a wallbox on the house, through a covered gully in the footway, to the car at the kerb. Until now the council has refused to allow any cable across a pavement, even under a cable mat.

The council says about 28% of households in Trafford have no off-street parking (Trafford Council, 20 October).

What it will cost

Residents pay the installer, Kerbo Charge, directly. The prices in the report to the Executive are marked “subject to confirmation”:

Upfront Monthly
Standard price £1,731.15 about £4.15
First 240 or so approved applications £1,231.15 about £4.15
  • The upfront price includes the council’s own street works licence fee of £898.65.
  • The £500 discount is paid from a government grant. It goes to the first approved applications in order, with no means test.
  • The report says the monthly charge covers maintenance and applies “after two years”. It also says you can cancel after 18 months, and the channel is then locked.
  • Kerbo Charge may let residents pay the upfront cost in instalments.

The price does not include the wallbox charger itself or its installation at the house.

Trafford’s government grant for the scheme is £132,735, of which £119,777 is capital money for the discounts and installs. The council expects a one-off £125 licence fee for each channel fitted.

Who can have one

Not every street will qualify. Each application is checked by council highways officers, and the report says a “suitable proportion” may be refused. Reasons it lists include:

  • a house that fronts straight onto the pavement, with no space between them
  • yellow lines, loading bays, bus stops, disabled bays or other parking restrictions outside
  • a street tree, grass verge, lamp post, sign, drain or junction in the way
  • a pavement or road too narrow for it to be safe
  • planned resurfacing on that stretch of footway
  • an existing public charger, such as a lamp post socket, close by

A channel does not reserve the parking space outside. The report says it is “not an entitlement” and gives no guaranteed access to the kerb.

Anyone refused should be told why, with photographs where relevant, how to appeal and what other charging is nearby.

When it starts

Not yet. Applications will go through Kerbo Charge’s online system and the council’s website, and the council says it will announce the opening.

The report plans the full rollout for October to December 2026. It also ties the start to a change in planning law that the government has promised but not yet brought in.

At present a house without off-street parking needs planning permission for a wallbox, conservation areas included. The government plans to make that permitted development. The report says that change was expected in summer 2026 and its date was still unconfirmed. Officers want the trial to start once it lands, so residents do not need two separate consents.

Listed buildings will still need listed building consent and planning permission whatever happens.

Conservation areas

For homes in a conservation area, the report sets out extra rules agreed with the council’s heritage officer:

  • the pavement repair should match the existing surface as closely as possible
  • old cobbles, setts, flagstones and kerbstones should be disturbed as little as possible
  • the channel should sit to one side of the front door, not in the middle
  • cabling on the property should run along the foot of a wall, not fixed to historic brickwork

What it means for you

If you park on the street and want to charge at home, do not buy a wallbox yet. The council says to check the eligibility rules first, because applying does not guarantee approval. Look at what is outside your house: a yellow line, a tree or a lamp post right outside could rule you out.

The cheaper price is first come, first served for about 240 homes across the whole borough, so watch for the opening announcement.

If you cannot have a channel, Trafford has 77 public charging bays across 13 council car parks run by Be.EV. It also has 74 on-street sockets at 47 sites installed with Amey, the council says. Our parking in Altrincham page lists the town’s car parks.

The trial runs for a year. A further report to the Executive will then decide whether to extend it, change it or use a different supplier.