W ith the government’s strategy to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, it estimates that there will be a need for around 300,000 public charging points (as a minimum) for the charging of electric vehicles. In response to this, there has been an increase in the installation of electric vehicle charging units in car parks, service stations, retail parks and any other ‘spare’ land suitable for a car park, which is good news for electric car owners, but also good news for land owners seeking to capitalise on this rising demand as a means to extract value from their landholdings, whether in the form of an additional income stream, driving up footfall on retail or other shopping outlets or for residential buildings, improving saleability by providing an additional amenity for residents. In all cases, it will also help improve the ‘green’ credentials of the landowner, and potentially attract more environmentally conscious tenants and customers.
Wendy Martin, Legal Director at Ellisons Solicitors, discusses what landowners should be considering when installing electric vehicle charging units, and why the structure of the provision needs to be considered carefully at the outset. Do you want to install and operate the charging points? This is challenging without the necessary technical skills, but there are specialist suppliers and contractors who can assist with the installation and ongoing maintenance and operation. A landlord may be approached by their tenant who wishes to install charging units within their car park or spare land. This would usually require the landowner’s consent for the works and any subletting to a charging operator. The most common option is to lease the land to an EV charging operator. There are a few of these, and no doubt competition in this section will only increase, but a landowner will need to research which operator would suit them and their landholding.
Where the decision is made to sublet space or contract with an EV charging operator there are several issues to be considered: Substations Is there sufficient power available on site for the operation of the charging points? If not, it may necessitate the installation of a new electricity substation near the site. This will require a separate lease to the local distribution network operator with associated cabling easements and land for the substation. Regardless of whether a new substation is required, where the power is coming in from does need to be considered and necessary easements and wayleaves entered into, particularly where such cabling runs over a third parties’ land. Lease terms Many EV operators require a lease of 25 years or more to ensure they can recover their initial investment. Whether the operator is given protection under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is a key consideration, particularly where future development of the site may be contemplated and ‘lift and shift’ provisions are required.
Electric Vehicle Charging Units – coming to a car park near you!
Written by Wendy Martin, Legal Director at Ellisons Solicitors
1 0 | SCRUTTON BLAND | P R O P E R T Y A N D CONSTRUCTION
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