EV chargers at McDonalds refused

Plans to install electric vehicle charging points at a McDonald’s in High Wycombe have been refused.

InstaVolt Ltd applied for a Certificate of Lawfulness to install two electric vehicle charging upstands and an associated feeder pillar at the fast food restaurant on Crest Road.

The application sought confirmation that the chargers could be installed under permitted development rights, without the need for a full planning application.

Under the proposals, three standard parking bays would have been reconfigured to create two wider EV charging bays, with the charging equipment installed at ground level and aligned with the parking spaces.

However, Buckinghamshire Council officers concluded that the scheme could not proceed under permitted development rules because it would result in the loss of an approved parking space.

Planning conditions attached to earlier permissions for the site require all agreed parking spaces to be retained and prevent them from being used for any other purpose.

In a delegated decision report, officers said that while the installation of EV charging infrastructure is normally allowed under permitted development, those rights are overridden in this case by the site’s existing planning conditions. As a result, the proposal would require express planning permission.

In the councils decision notice it said: “The development specified in the proposal description hereto with installation of two electrical upstands
and associated feeder pillar for recharging vehicles taking place to the building on the land at McDonalds, Crest Road, High Wycombe.

“Given the resultant loss of on-site parking space, it is not permitted development by virtue of Condition 12 of planning permission 20/07802/FUL dated 22nd September 2022 and Condition 10 of planning permission 24/05693/VCDN dated 8th August 2024 which require the retention of the parking spaces approved and prevents their use for any other purpose. As such, express planning permission is required.”

There were no objections from residents, no comments from the parish council and no concerns raised over the design, height or location of the equipment. Officers also confirmed that the chargers complied with national rules relating to electric vehicle infrastructure.

The decision does not prevent the chargers from being installed in future, but means a full planning application would need to be submitted and approved before the work could go ahead.