All new buildings must have electric vehicle charging points from next year.
The government has confirmed that legislation will come into force in 2022, meaning that developers of everything from homes to supermarkets to office blocks will be required to install the infrastructure.
The announcement was the only new policy unveiled in the prime minister’s speech to the CBI conference in South Shields yesterday.
Critics have said that the prime minister missed a perfect opportunity to put some flesh on the levelling up agenda and explain how the policies would benefit the North, following last week’s controversial decision not to build the eastern leg of the HS2 rail line.
Instead much of the rest of the 25-minute speech was taken up by car noises, comparisons with Moses and Lenin and a five-minute endorsement of Peppa Pig World in Hampshire.