After two years of campaigning for electric vehicle charging points in the John Sebastian car park, we have finally heard from Ed Plowden, the chair of Bristol City Council’s Transport and Connectivity Committee. He writes:
Lower Guinea Street Car Park, also known as John Sebastian Car Park, has been assessed as a potential location for public EV charging. Work completed to date includes initial feasibility assessments, concept design and discussions with the Distribution Network Operator regarding possible charger locations, capacity requirements and infrastructure constraints.
The site is not included in the current tranche being delivered through the Green Recovery Fund (GRF) programme. Bristol City Council and Ameresco have agreed an alternative portfolio for the current procurement exercise to maximise deliverability and make effective use of the available funding within the programme timescales.
Once procurement is complete and delivery costs are confirmed, the remaining programme budget will be reviewed. If sufficient capacity remains, Lower Guinea Street may be considered for a subsequent phase of GRF delivery. If it cannot be progressed through GRF, it will remain available for consideration through future opportunities, including the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme and other funding streams.
We are also aware of the interest from the Friends of Bathurst Basin. Detailed engagement would be premature at this stage, but we would welcome their involvement if the site progresses through a future delivery programme.
The charging points would be easily accessible to the many residents who live close to the Basin: Merchants Landing (over 50 houses and several apartment blocks), the General and the Iron Foundry (200 apartments). Visitors to the area’s many commercial facilities could also use chargers in the Lower Guinea Street Car Park. We have also asked Asda to install 25 EV charging points and they have not responded. The new public car park in Guinea Street has no EV facilities. Very little is being done to encourage electric vehicles in the Clean Air Zone.