CHARGING GULLIES FUND TO BOOST ELECTRIC CAR UPTAKE

It should enable more to charge at home - but critics say it's not viable

- By JOHN EVANS

A government grant of £25 million to support new cross-pavement EV charging schemes has been hailed as a major boost to the take-up of electric cars by enabling households without a driveway to charge an EV cheaply on the road.

The cash will be spent on installing covered gullies that can carry a charge cable across a pavement to an EV parked on the road. It is hoped the solution will tackle a problem faced by around nine million UK homes and in turn drive up the uptake of EVs.

However, critics are worried the solution still has significant challenges to overcome, especially around running costs and usability, before it becomes a fully viable solution.