Launching soon in Lancashire
No charging cable left across the pavement: it runs through a flush council cable gully instead, and you can charge on cheaper home electricity whenever you can park near your door. We'll help with the survey, the council application and the home charger, and check whether you can get the government grant, all in one place.
Starting in Bamber Bridge, Leyland and the rest of South Ribble, Preston and Chorley.
The problem
A charging cable across the pavement is a risk for neighbours, pushchairs, wheelchair users and people with sight loss. Lancashire County Council says placing a cable across the highway in a way likely to cause danger is an offence under the Highways Act 1980.
Without a home charger you're often relying on public chargepoints, which usually cost much more per unit than charging at home on a household electricity tariff.
Council permission, grant rules, approved electricians, cable routes. It's a lot to work out on your own, so many people just don't start.
How it works
We check your home, parking and cable route, and go through the grant rules with you to see if you're likely to qualify. Then you get a clear quote with no obligation.
We help you apply to Lancashire County Council for a pavement channel, which the council calls a cable tray. The council decides whether your home and pavement are suitable, and currently installs the channels itself.
An OZEV-approved installer fits an eligible charger model on your wall. As our own standard, we'll only use electricians who show us they're insured.
If you qualify, we help you apply and get OZEV's confirmation before the charger is fitted. The council channel can be agreed, or already in, before then. Once both are in place, the installer takes the grant off the charger bill and claims it. Then we check everything's working.
Why do it
Charge overnight on your home electricity tariff whenever you can park near your door, instead of relying on public charging prices.
While you charge, the cable sits in a flush channel set into the pavement instead of lying across it. You unplug and put the cable away after each charge, as the council requires.
No cable mats or cables hanging over the pavement, and one local team arranging it all for you.
The government grant
The government's EV chargepoint grant for households with on-street parking can cover 75% of the cost to buy and install one charger socket, up to £500. It doesn't pay for the pavement channel. Not everyone qualifies. Funding is confirmed until 31 March 2027, and the government can change or end it earlier.
To be eligible, all of these need to apply to you:
We'll go through these with you at your survey, but the decision is made by the government's Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), not by us, so we can't promise you'll get it. Renters, and flat owners where someone else controls the building, need permission before applying. More detail in the FAQs below, and the full rules in the official grant details on GOV.UK.
Questions
They're different names for the same thing: a shallow channel set flush into the pavement. Your charging cable sits in it while you charge, so it isn't lying across the footway. The government calls this a cross-pavement solution, and Lancashire County Council calls it a cable tray.
Not loose, and not under a cable mat or cover. Lancashire County Council doesn't allow cable mats, and says placing a cable across the highway in a way likely to cause danger is an offence under the Highways Act 1980. The approved way is a council cable tray. After each charge you take the cable out and store it off the pavement.
Yes. Lancashire County Council says your car must be parked on the same side of the road as the charger, at least 2.5 metres from electrical equipment such as lampposts, street cabinets or other cars that are charging, and must not block the pavement or other road users.
Lancashire County Council looks after the pavements in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley. Nobody can put a cable channel in the pavement without its permission, and at the moment the council installs the channels itself. The council checks each home, and not every property or pavement will be suitable. Its highway consent is separate from planning permission. If your street is a private or unadopted road, you'll also need the landowner's permission. We help you through the application and arrange everything on your side of the pavement, but the final decision is always the council's.
Every home is different, so after a free survey we give you a clear, itemised quote for the charger and installation, with the grant taken off if you're eligible and OZEV approves it. The pavement channel is a separate council service, and the grant doesn't pay for it. Lancashire County Council hasn't published a resident price for cable trays yet, so we can't quote one. There's no obligation to go ahead.
No, not everyone is eligible. The main rules are listed in the grant section above: for example, you need an eligible electric car (or one on order), no private off-street parking, the council's agreement to a pavement channel, and approval from the government before the charger is fitted. The grant also can't be given where a chargepoint was a mandatory requirement, for example on some new-build homes, and OZEV can still refuse a claim or audit an installation. We'll check with you at the survey, and if it looks like you don't qualify, we'll tell you before you commit to anything.
Timescales depend mainly on council approval and its installation schedule, which we don't control. We'll give you an honest estimate after your survey and keep you updated along the way.
Yes, if you live there and meet the other grant rules. Before you apply for the grant, and before anything is fitted, get permission from your landlord or housing association. For a flat, you'll also need the freeholder's or managing agent's permission where they control the building. We can help you explain what's involved to them.
Since 21 October 2026, in England, many wall-mounted home chargers, and pavement channels installed or authorised by the highway authority, no longer need a planning application. You still need Lancashire County Council's highway consent for the channel.
Planning permission is still needed if the channel or charger would be in a conservation area, on a scheduled monument, or within the grounds of a listed building. For a home with no off-street parking, the charger must also be a single outlet, no bigger than 0.2 cubic metres and no higher than 1.6 metres. On a wall next to the pavement, it can stick out no more than 0.2 metres and must leave at least 1.5 metres of footway. An Article 4 direction can remove these rights.
When the channel is no longer needed it must be removed and the pavement put back. Building regulations still apply. We'll check all this at the survey, and your district council can confirm it.
No. A pavement channel doesn't reserve the road space outside your home, so it works best on streets where you can usually park near your door.
Yes, if you're planning to get one. Registering costs nothing and doesn't commit you to anything. It helps us see where demand is, and we'll let you know when we're ready to book surveys in your area. Just note that you can only get the government grant once you have, or have ordered, an electric car on OZEV's eligible list.
We're a new local business based in Bamber Bridge, setting up to make home charging simple for Lancashire households without a driveway. We're not booking work yet. Right now we're gathering interest so we can launch in the areas that need it most.
Launching soon
We're launching in Bamber Bridge, South Ribble, Preston and Chorley first. Leave your details and we'll be in touch when we're ready to offer free surveys near you.
We'll email you when we're ready to offer free surveys in your area. If you have a question in the meantime, email hello@redrosecharge.co.uk.
Know a neighbour with the same problem? Share this page with them.
Who we are. Red Rose Charge is a new business based in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire. You can contact us about your data at hello@redrosecharge.co.uk.
What we collect. Through the interest form: your name, email address, phone number (if you give it), postcode, whether you have or plan to get an electric car, and how you charge now.
Why. To contact you about our service when it launches in your area, and to understand which areas need it most. We rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Who sees it. Only Red Rose Charge. Form submissions are passed to us by email through our form provider, Web3Forms, and stored in our Google Workspace account. If you later ask for a survey, we'll only share what's needed with the electrician doing it, and we'll tell you first. We never sell your data.
How long. We keep your details for up to 2 years from when you register, or until you ask us to delete them, whichever is sooner.
Your rights. You can ask to see, correct or delete your details, or stop us contacting you, by emailing hello@redrosecharge.co.uk. If you're unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.