The Scottish Government and EVI
The Scottish Government has invested a great deal into EV charging, and the Scottish public charging network is amongst the best in the country.
Transport Scotland have an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (EVIP) Board which directs EVI programmes in Scotland.
Contents
- Funding public chargepoints
- Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF, 2022-present)
- Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund (RIIF, 2025-present)
- ChargePlace Scotland (CPS, 2013-2025)
- Grants for home chargers
- Legislation
Funding public chargepoints
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF, 2022-present)
The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund is Scotland's current scheme aimed at on-street charging.
Of the 32 councils in Scotland, all except East Lothian and Stirling have proceeded to an EVIF project. Dundee City Council is operating its project alone. The other 29 councils are grouped into six partnerships.
The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland give the figure of £30m for project investment. This includes £4.48m for strategy and procurement, and £25.52m for subsidy of public chargepoints.
| EVIF (2022-present) | |
|---|---|
| Region of scheme | Scotland |
| Authority which receives funding and administers rollout | Partnership between councils (except Dundee City Council, independent) |
| Determination of funding | Transport Scotland determined EVIF funding for each partnership. |
| Breakdown of spend | The EVIF capital funding is of a fixed nature and contributes towards a portfolio of chargepoints - the more, the better. It is not possible to discern the percentage contribution of the EVIF fund on a chargepoint-by-chargepoint basis. The percentage contribution of the EVIF fund to a highway authority's portfolio will vary across the country. |
| Total funding across Scotland | £25.51m |
| Number of charging devices | Expected to deliver approximately 6,000. |
Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund (RIIF, 2025-present)
The Rural and Island Infrastructure fund is aimed at ensuring a just transition in Scotland.
| RIIF (2025-present) | |
|---|---|
| Region of scheme | Scotland's islands and rural areas |
| Body which receives funding | Business: landowner or chargepoint operator |
| Determination of funding | The level of funding is led by demand for each application |
| Breakdown of spend | The RIIF capital funding is limited to a maximum of £15,000 per AC chargepoint, with several limits up to £60,000 depending on power for DC chargepoints, and innovative projects. |
| Total funding | £4.5m |
| Number of charging devices | Up to 300 |
ChargePlace Scotland (CPS, 2013-2025)
ChargePlace Scotland was Transport Scotland's very own chargepoint operator, which installed and operated over 3,000 chargepoints.
The dissolution of ChargePlace Scotland is ongoing. Chargepoint owners will migrate chargepoints away from ChargePoint Scotland throughout 2025, with a deadline of the end of the year.
| ChargePlace Scotland (2013-2025) | |
|---|---|
| Region of scheme | Scotland |
| Body which receives funding | ChargePlace Scotland spends funding directly |
| Determination of funding | The level of funding is led by costs for each chargepoint |
| Breakdown of spend | No breakdown by device is available. |
| Total funding | £65m |
| Number of charging devices | Over 3,000 |
Grants for home chargers
Domestic charge point grant
While the UK Government has scaled back grants for home chargers, Transport Scotland continues to fund home chargepoints in islands and rural areas through the Domestic charge point grant.
Other eligible applicants are recipients of loans for used EVs, electric taxis or vans, and recipients of the Cross-pavement charging grant (below).
Cross-pavement charging grant
Residents of East Lothian, Renfrewshire, and Perth and Kinross can apply for the cross-pavement charging grant.
Legislation
Planning
Electric vehicle chargepoint installation is covered in the The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992.
Electric vehicle chargepoints are permitted development except in cases of extreme size, or close proximity to a road.
Highway Law
The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 applies in Scotland.
In particular, it is illegal to trail cables over the footway:
Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, Part VIII Section 90: Restriction on placing bridges, beams, rails etc. over roads.
- No overhead bridge, beam, rail, pipe, cable, wire or other similar apparatus shall be fixed or placed over, along or across a road without the consent of the roads authority; and that authority may attach to their consent such reasonable terms and conditions as they think fit.
- A person who contravenes subsection (1) above or the terms or conditions of any consent given thereunder commits an offence.
- Subsection (1) above does not apply to any works or apparatus of statutory undertakers.
- A person aggrieved by the refusal of a consent required by this section, or by any terms or conditions attached to any such consent, may, within 28 days of the refusal or consent, refer the matter by summary application to the sheriff; and the decision of the sheriff on the matter shall be final.
Street works law
The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 applies in Scotland, however the parts of the Act which apply in Scotland are different to the parts which apply in England and Wales.
Chargepoint operators must obtain permission under Section 109 of the Act to install public chargepoints on public roads.