EV Charger Installation Near Trees

Car parks across schools, hospitals, offices and housing estates are being fitted with electric vehicle chargers. Most of them have trees along the bays, and most installations are designed without anyone looking at the trees.

The chargers themselves are small. The problem is the cable. Power runs from a feeder pillar or the building to each charger, usually in a trench cut along the parking bays — directly through the rooting area of the trees planted between them.

Urban Tree Management provides arboricultural assessments for EV charging installations, so the cable routes and bases are designed around the trees rather than through them.

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Why Car Park Trees Are Vulnerable

Car park trees already live in the worst conditions of any trees — small planting pits, compacted ground, roots under tarmac, salt in winter. Most are surviving on a fraction of the rooting space they need.

A trench along the bays cuts through the little rooting area they have. The damage doesn't show for two or three years, then the trees decline — over the parking, the chargers and the people using them.

Where the trees are protected, or the car park sits in a conservation area, cutting the roots needs consent regardless of whether the chargers need planning permission.

Designing the Cable Route

Most of the impact can be avoided at design stage.

Route the cable away from the trees — along the kerb line on the far side of the bays, or behind them
Where it must cross a root protection area, thrust bore or directional drill rather than open trench
Hand dig where boring isn't possible, with roots over a set size retained and worked around
Use surface-mounted ducting in the most sensitive areas
Place feeder pillars and charger bases outside the root protection areas

The assessment maps the trees' root protection areas against the installer's layout and marks where each approach is needed — before the design is fixed and priced.

Who This Is For

Schools, colleges and universities fitting staff and visitor charging.
Hospitals and healthcare estates with large car parks and mature boundary planting.
Housing associations and management companies adding charging to residents' parking.
Businesses and business parks installing workplace charging.
EV installers and electrical contractors who want the tree position known before they submit a design.

What You Receive

Trees surveyed and root protection areas mapped against the proposed layout
The cable route and charger positions marked for open trench, bore, hand dig or surface ducting
Confirmation of any TPO or conservation area protection, and whether consent is needed
A short method statement the installer can work to
Where a planning application is needed, the BS5837 survey and method statement

Carried out by Carl Riva, Dip Arb (ABC) Level 6, MArborA. Consultancy only — no electrical or tree works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need planning permission for EV chargers?

Many car park chargers are permitted development, subject to limits. But permitted development doesn't cover works to protected trees — cutting their roots still needs consent.

H3:
Can the cable just go under the trees?

Yes, if it's bored rather than trenched. Thrust boring or directional drilling below the main rooting depth avoids cutting roots at the surface.
Our installer has already designed the layout. Is it too late?

No. An assessment of the proposed layout identifies where it needs changing before work starts, which is far cheaper than dealing with dead trees afterwards.
Who is responsible if the trees die after installation?

The landowner holds the duty of care for the trees, and inherits the risk of declining trees over a car park. That's why it's worth getting right at design stage.
Do you work for installers directly?

Yes. We can provide the assessment to the installer as part of their design, under their programme.