The Scottish government has launched a new pilot scheme lead by the department for transport making electric vehicles accessible to more households without traditional off-street parking.

The Cross Pavement Charging Grant pilot programme will fund the installation of charging solutions in East Lothian, Renfrewshire and Perth and Kinross with other local authorities expressing an interest to take part.

Grants of up to £3,500 per household will be available for solutions such as pavement gulley technology or pop-up bollards.

Results from the pilot, backed by £250,000 of Scottish Government funding and delivered by the Energy Saving Trust, will feed into the development of national guidance on cross-pavement charging.

“I’m really pleased to launch this pilot scheme, another way in which we are supporting Scotland’s transition to electric vehicles, reducing carbon emissions and aligning with the Scottish Government’s priority to tackle the climate emergency,” transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said.

“The fund will improve access to people without off-street parking, such as driveways, promoting accessibility to electric vehicles to people more likely to have limited public charging options.

“Innovation and investment are crucial to continuing to support a Just Transition towards electric vehicle use and I look forward to hearing about more households successfully making the switch.”

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Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism, said: “East Lothian has an excellent track record in supporting the transition to an electric future and we were delighted to give our backing to a scheme which helps make it even easier to switch to EVs.

“For people who don’t have a driveway or another convenient place to plug in near their house, cable gullies offer an accessible option for charging their vehicle from home.

“The council has been piloting this safer method of charging from home for nearly a year and we’ve received some great feedback from residents who have taken part.”