Where should you put EV chargers on your business site?

Put chargers where drivers can park, connect and reach your facilities safely, then compare the electrical routes and operating restrictions. Where applicable, contactless rules for new public chargers rated at 8 kW or above affect the layout [S3]. Ask your installer for alternative marked plans before committing bays or signing land rights. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 17 October 2026

Where should chargers go within your car park?

Begin with the journey across your site. Mark where drivers enter, find a bay, open the car door, connect the cable and walk to your building. Then walk the route yourself during a busy period. Photograph obstacles and record operational problems for the designer. This is a useful briefing exercise, not electrical design approval.

Government location guidance brings together parking, property ownership, accessibility and demand information [S1]. Apply that approach within your boundary. A space that looks convenient on a plan may conflict with a loading route, a delivery vehicle’s turning area or the queue outside reception.

Ask for alternative positions on the same drawing. Compare each against your actual users: staff staying through a shift, guests staying overnight, customers visiting briefly or vans returning to base. Use the dwell-time guide to brief the installer about the service you want. Avoid choosing the hardware first and finding somewhere to fit it afterwards.

How do power supply and cable routes affect the position?

Ask the installer to trace the route from the proposed supply point to every charging position. Request separate prices for electrical work, excavation, surface reinstatement and disruption. A shorter route is a useful option to investigate, but it should still be assessed against access and day-to-day operation.

A distribution network operator (DNO) manages the local electricity network. UK Power Networks describes a process covering charging needs, installer involvement, network assessment and a connection quotation [S4]. Ask your own DNO for the corresponding process. A charger rating does not establish your site’s available capacity.

Kilowatts (kW) measure power; kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy delivered over time. In an illustrative sizing exercise, delivering 14 kWh over a two-hour stay requires an average 7 kW: 14 ÷ 2 = 7. Those are assumed needs, not a prediction of what any vehicle will accept. Ask the designer to include simultaneous building demand.

Read how much power your site has before approving an upgrade allowance. Request a drawing that distinguishes confirmed routes from routes awaiting surveys or third-party consent.

How do you avoid losing useful parking and blocking access?

Use this proposed comparison sheet at the site meeting. Fill it in for each layout rather than assuming every charging bay serves the same purpose.

Agree who can use the bays and when. Ask how staff, guests and public drivers would share them, and what happens when a vehicle has finished charging. Test the proposed arrangements with the person who manages parking. Do not assume your existing parking policy answers charging questions.

For a small site, ask for a staged layout that can be reviewed against recorded use. Keep the later phase visible on the plan so a new landscaping scheme or loading area does not accidentally occupy the intended route.

How should accessibility change your charger layout?

Review the complete charging journey with disabled users where possible. Designability’s guidance looks at equipment and its surroundings, and explains how its practical guidance relates to PAS 1899:2022 [S2]. Ask your designer to state the standard and assessment method used, including any limitations.

Request a demonstration of the proposed cable handling, screen, controls, kerbs and route between the car and your facilities. Include bollards and wheel stops on the drawing; assess them as part of the space people use. Check the accessible charging guide for your survey brief.

Where contactless rules apply to new public chargers of 8 kW or above, plan payment access alongside the charging position [S3]. Ask the operator to show a usable payment journey during the hours it intends to advertise.

Check scope with your solicitor: exclusively workplace charging is excluded, and micro-business operators are exempt from the contactless requirement [S3]. Do not infer the operator’s status from the size of your own business.

What should you confirm with the council and installer?

Give the council a description of the complete proposal, including any signs, lighting, equipment housing and changes to vehicle access. Ask it to confirm the applicable planning route for your nation and site. This guide does not apply a single planning threshold across the UK. Have your solicitor check property permissions.

Ask bidders to identify unresolved issues before accepting a layout. These might include buried services, drainage, the condition of the existing electrical installation, landlord approval or the network offer. Record the decision owner and evidence needed to close each issue. Use the survey checklist to organise the visit.

For fully funded, part funded and self funded offers, require the same marked layout. Ask who pays if the agreed route changes after survey and who reinstates surfaces. Discuss construction access, parking closure and your trading calendar before work is scheduled. Make the accepted drawing part of the project documents.

What should you do next?

Prepare photographs, a parking plan, opening hours and the user groups you want to serve. Request a survey that compares positions and records the power, access and permission questions still to resolve.

Piggy Pineapple Ltd operates this referral service. We refer enquiries to installer partners and may be paid a fee. Our owner holds shares in at least one partner. Before passing on your details, we name the proposed partner and disclose whether our owner holds shares in it. Read how we work, then get matched with an installer that covers your area.