Half of UK councils do not provide on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging for residents without driveways. This means millions of households cannot plug in overnight near home, despite over 90% of councils having at least one public charger somewhere in their area.
According to Freedom of Information research commissioned by Vauxhall, covering 414 councils between May and July 2026, only 39% of councils offer on-street charging designed for residential use. This is up from 31% three years ago, but still leaves half with no on-street provision at all.
Why on-street charging matters
The UK’s public charging network has passed 122,000 points, adding more than 50,000 since the end of 2023. However, while motorway hubs and rapid chargers at service stations meet some needs, they do not solve the challenge for households without off-street parking.
Nearly 9 million UK homes lack off-street parking, roughly a third of all households. These drivers rely on kerbside chargers to plug in overnight, or face a weekly burden of detours to more distant charging points.
Uneven geography of charging provision
More than 70% of the UK’s on-street chargers are concentrated in London. This skews the national figure that over 90% of councils have charging points, making it less representative of conditions outside the capital.
A driver with a driveway can install a home charger and mostly disregard public chargers. A driver without a driveway depends on on-street facilities. Availability varies widely between council areas, leaving residents in many places locked out.
More than just installing chargepoints
Providing on-street charging involves street design, parking controls, electrical connections, footway width and prioritising users in limited space. Incorrect placement can cause trailing cables, obstruct footways or create bays that are unusable.
Charging bays require legal backing through traffic regulation orders, similar to those for road humps, speed limits or parking restrictions. Without these, chargers may never operate as intended.
Some councils are treating on-street charging as a planning discipline. Thirty-two per cent now have a published strategy for on-street residential charging. Forty-six per cent have a dedicated EV charging policy officer, up by 15% from 2023.
Coventry’s scaled example
Coventry City Council’s partnership with Connected Kerb has delivered 1,856 charging sockets. More than 9,000 registered residents use the network. This shows what planned rollout and dedicated capacity can achieve compared to one-off installations.
What this means for UK roads
Eurig Druce, Vauxhall’s UK managing director, said it was encouraging that over 90% of councils have at least one public charger. He highlighted the need to shift focus towards installing the right chargers in the right places to meet residential demand, especially for those without off-street parking.
The figures come from Vauxhall’s own commissioned research under its Electric Streets of Britain campaign. The campaign shares data with chargepoint operators including char.gy, Connected Kerb and Kerbo Charge to guide deployment. This research is not an independent government audit.
Planning based on local conditions
Not every street will suit the same type of charger. Footway width, street layout and demand influence whether bollard chargers, lamp column units, dedicated bays or nearby communal hubs are appropriate. Narrow footways in urban areas cannot accommodate the same provision as wide suburban verges.
On-street charging remains a postcode lottery for many drivers. The practical question is simple: where can I plug in overnight?
For local highways teams, the EV transition is as much a street-level infrastructure challenge as an energy or automotive issue. It is progressing unevenly, one council boundary at a time.
