IF you live in Devon and charge your Electric Vehicle (EV) at home but don’t have a driveway you can apply to have a cross-pavement cable channel installed for free as part of a pioneering new trial.

A cable channel allows a vehicle to be charged while parked on the road without cables crossing the surface of the pavement.

It’s all part of the Devon and Torbay Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) project which is supported by an £8m grant provided by the Department for Transport.

A key barrier to the uptake of EVs s the availability of suitable charging infrastructure at home for those that do not have off road parking.

Because cable channels are cut into the footway it enables EV charging cables to reach safely from the property boundary to your EV.

Although cables must be removed from the channel when not in use, removal is easy to do and takes a few seconds.

If you are a homeowner, drive an EV, have an EV charger at home, and do not have access to off-road parking but can safely park on-street outside of your property, you can apply to be considered for a free installation during the trial

The trial will enable Devon County Council and Torbay Council to collect information to understand where this solution will be most suitable and ensure that the installation of future cable channels can be managed/delivered effectively.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for Climate Change and Biodiversity said: ‘On road transportation makes up more than a quarter of the county’s total carbon emissions and the delivery of infrastructure to support the transition to electric vehicles is of vital importance to help address the Climate Emergency.

‘If you are a homeowner, drive an EV and do not have access to off-road parking I would encourage you to follow the weblink and apply to tyake part in the trial’.