News / floating harbour
Pontoons costing £670,000 have yet to welcome a single boat
Not a single boat has moored at pontoons that were installed in June in the hope of bringing in extra income for Bristol City Council.
The council has so far spent £670,000 purchasing and installing the pontoons and associated structures, and could also pay towards a ‘quayside suitability investigation’ which cost around £30,000.
The pontoons on the Floating Harbour almost opposite the SS Great Britain have space for 32 moorings.
In plans first unveiled in 2022, they were meant to provide new places for people to live but so far have remained unoccupied other than by visiting birds.
A modular building on the Hotwell Road side of the pontoons contains toilets and showers for use by boaters if they ever arrive.
A floating ecosystem was installed next to the new pontoons – photo: Martin Booth
One potential issue for the future viability of the mooring facilities at Capricorn Quay is that the pontoons’ ‘fingers’ are too small for most boats.
The initial specification document revealed after a Freedom of Information request shows that the layout of the berths was always based upon a maximum boat length of ten metres – but the majority of live-aboard vessels in the harbour are longer than this.
It appears, however, that the primary issue delaying the pontoons welcoming their first boats is a change of plan on how to construct the gangways.
Residents in the flats at Capricorn Quay overlooking Bristol’s historic docks raised concerns about the noise that will come from boats at the new moorings – photo: Martin Booth
In a statement sent by email to Bristol24/7, the chair of the economy & skills and policy committee, Andrew Brown, confirmed that the pontoons at Capricorn Quay “are structurally sound and the small services hut nearby is in working order”.
Brown said: “We delayed the installation of the gangways in order to undertake further assessments of the quay’s load-bearing capacity and as a precaution have altered plans.
“We will now install these from the waterside rather than the shoreside.
“This work is expected to be completed imminently and will include the installation of service posts for water and electricity supply to vessels.
“Once installation is complete, the pontoons will be available for mooring as intended.”
“Significant investment is needed to keep the harbour running, and our plans for a new pontoon at Capricorn Quay are a step in the right direction,” said former Bristol Marvin Rees in 2022 when unveiling plans for the pontoons – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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