Electric car owners in Blackburn with Darwen are being offered the chance by council bosses to join the home charging 'revolution'.

But the cost of installing cable channels for households could range from £850 to £1,100, excluding VAT, councillors have heard.

Proposals to offer an EV (electric vehicle) charging solution for residents without off-street parking have been approved by borough growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood.

In a report to colleagues, Cllr Mahmood says: "The aim of providing residents with the option to apply to have a cable channel is to enable householders to charge their electric vehicle safely from their domestic electricity supply, while parked on the adopted highway.

"If this proposal is approved, we would provide the facility for Blackburn with Darwen residents to make an application for which once approved (and upon receipt of funds), Blackburn with Darwen Council will install a cable channel into the footway for eligible households without off-street parking."

Councillors have been told the cable channel is 'designed to sit flush with the pavement surface to minimise trip hazards and hinderance to wheelchair users or prams'.

The cable is inserted into the channel for the home charging process and then removed once the session is complete.

In his report Cllr Mahmood says the cost of commercial and public supplies can range from 45 to 85p per kilowatt hour, compared to just 7.5 to 28p for domestic private electricity.

The guide price for installation of a two-metre cable channel, including materials and labour, is £850, excluding VAT, and a three-metre alternative would be £1,100.

Cllr Mahmood says residents can apply for government grant, of up to £350, to offset the cost.

His report adds: "Blackburn with Darwen Council operating as the highway authority will own and maintain the channel but reserve the right to remove or infill the EV cable channel if it is misused, is no longer needed or if the highway changes and the channel cannot be facilitated.

"We understand that in some areas it can prove challenging to park outside your home, and this will also make charging more difficult.

"However, these channels could provide a suitable solution in some areas and will allow savings to be made on the cost of charging vehicles."

County council highway officials are said to have installed cable trays at properties in Hyndburn, Ribble Valley and Rossendale as part of the authority's electric vehicle programme over the past 18 months.

An estimated 36 per cent of vehicles (29,723) in Blackburn with Darwen will be electric by 2030, according to a county council study last year.

Blackburn with Darwen's electric vehicles strategy aims to have 260 charge points by 2026 and more than 800 by 2030.