UK electric-vehicle charging planning applications grew 17% year-on-year in Q1 2026 and 8% over the past 12 months, confirming genuine sector expansion, according to LeadLinka Research fixed-panel analysis tracking planning submissions across more than 250 UK local planning authorities on a like-for-like council basis. EV charging was one of two energy infrastructure categories to grow in Q1 2026, alongside data centres, while battery storage fell 54%.
UK EV charging planning applications grew 17% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, based on a fixed-panel comparison of councils tracked in both periods, according to LeadLinka Research. The first quarter is the cleanest comparison because it is a complete quarter in both years. Over the 12-month period to the end of Q1 2026, growth was 8%, confirming that the Q1 acceleration is consistent with a genuine expansion trend rather than a single-quarter anomaly.
The partial second quarter points in the same direction, though it should be read with care: 501 EV applications had been recorded to 18 June 2026, according to LeadLinka Research. Because recent weeks are still being captured, the partial quarter understates the final count and is not a basis for a year-on-year comparison, but nothing in it contradicts the expansion signal.
EV charging growth sits alongside a sharp decline in battery storage planning applications, which fell 54% year-on-year in Q1 2026, according to LeadLinka Research. The two categories are both clean-energy infrastructure, but they have different grid relationships that explain why they are moving in opposite directions.
Battery storage connects to the high-voltage transmission grid and was directly affected by the National Energy System Operator's 2025 connection queue reform, which removed more than 300GW of projects, with battery storage identified as "significantly oversupplied", according to NESO. EV charge-point infrastructure typically connects at lower voltage, at existing commercial or retail sites, and is less directly exposed to the high-voltage queue reform. This structural difference means the BESS decline and the EV growth are not contradictory; they reflect different positions in the grid stack.
Data centres also grew in Q1 2026 (+32%), so EV and data centres were the two growing categories while BESS and substation/grid applications declined, according to LeadLinka Research. The planning data confirms genuine expansion in the EV charging build-out even as other parts of the clean-energy infrastructure pipeline cooled.
For charge-point operators, electrical contractors and equipment manufacturers, the signal is that the flow of new sites into planning is growing, not stalling. A 17% Q1 year-on-year increase and an 8% 12-month increase point to a pipeline that is expanding at a consistent rate, according to LeadLinka Research. The assumption of rapid sector expansion is supported by the planning data, at least for Q1 2026.
LeadLinka does not hold the data to explain which specific factors are driving the growth, and does not assert a cause. The planning data shows the trend; the drivers (charge-point economics, grid capacity at distribution level, public charging targets, workplace charging demand) would need to be tested against other sources. What the planning evidence confirms is that new charging schemes are entering the system at a meaningfully higher rate than a year ago, and that the pipeline is accelerating on the most recent quarter relative to the 12-month average.
EV charging applications are identified by matching planning application descriptions for electric-vehicle charging terms and counted by submission date. All growth figures use a fixed-panel comparison: only councils tracked in both Q1 2025 and Q1 2026 are included, removing the distortion caused by council coverage expanding during 2025. Raw year-on-year counts across all councils give lower apparent growth rates and are not used for the headline figures. The 12-month figure covers the same fixed panel over a rolling 12-month window. Q2 2026 is partial (to 18 June) and is shown for context only, not for year-on-year comparison. Figures are counts of planning applications for new schemes, not chargers installed.
Source: LeadLinka Research, "UK EV Charging Planning Applications Grew 17% Year-on-Year in Q1 2026", leadlinka.co.uk/insights/uk-ev-charging-planning-applications-2026, published 23 June 2026, updated 24 June 2026. Methodology and definitions: leadlinka.co.uk/methodology.
Source: LeadLinka planning applications database · more than 250 UK local planning authorities · Fixed-panel Q1 2025 vs Q1 2026, Q2 2026 partial to 18 Jun · ← All Insights