New Moorings in Bristol

[Alan de Enfield]

The pontoons were installed on the Floating Harbour, Bristol, in June with the hope of bringing in extra income for Bristol City Council.

But it has been revealed that no boats have moored at the pontoons opposite the SS Great Britain.

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.

 

 

In plans first unveiled in 2022, they were meant to provide new places for people to live but so far the 32 spaces for moorings have remained unoccupied other than by visiting birds.

Locals reacting to the news said the project was a ‘waste of money’.

One said: “Money to burn at Bristol City Council.”

Another added: “They know how to waste monies? Our monies !!”

Whilst another claimed: “They were made the wrong size – should be twice as long.”

Previously, residents in the flats at Capricorn Quay overlooking the historic docks expressed concerns about the noise that will come from the boats at the new moorings.

Association chair, Fraser Bridgeford, said previously: “This has overwhelmingly been rejected by residents. The pollution and noise adjacent to our homes will be unacceptable…

“It’s about money and getting more into the council’s coffers at the expense of residents.”

 

A modular building on the Hotwell Road side of the pontoons contains toilets and showers for use by boaters if they ever arrive.

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.

In a statement sent by email to a local paper, 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.”

[Rob-M]

I walked past the empty pontoons the other day, there was no way off the pontoons on to the path so I presumed they hadn't finished installing them.

[ditchcrawler]

I wonder what the cost will be, I thought there was a long waiting list to moor in Bristol 

[Arthur Marshall]

So there it is. A hyped up atticle about a terrible council wasting money because something they invested loads in is unused, with a tiny bit at the end that says they aren't being used because they aren't finished yet.

Sheer stupidity masquerading as reportage, with a bit of help from the Reform Party (per Facebook) and Alan.

[Bristolfashion]

The pontoons are quite short - our local online magazine suggested that they are designed for boats up to 10m, which rules out a lot of canal boats. I'd assumed that this was for navigation reasons (they stick out into the harbour) - and, possibly, they were going to have a shuffle around to optimise mooring around the harbour.

 

Anyway, getting a few more moorings into the harbour is a good idea - let's hope the boats are used a bit to add to the life of the place - I watched a narrow boat & a wide beam chugging up the harbour the other day and a bit of boat movement adds some colour to the place.