PLYMOUTH’S city centre car parks may need strengthening over the next five to ten years to cope with the weight of electric vehicles, a report to the city council has revealed.

The city’s multi storey car parks were built between 1966 and 1980, long before the introduction of electric vehicles, and a survey next year will identify works that might be needed and costs involved to make them fit for purpose in the future.

Cars powered by electric tend to be heavier by 300kg to 400kg compared to petrol vehicles, according to Transport and Environment, a leading advocate for clean transport and energy.

A report to next week’s housing and community services scrutiny panel says that recent assessments of all of Plymouth City Council’s five multi storey car parks – Western Approach, Theatre Royal, Regent Street, Mayflower Street East and Napier Street – have confirmed that they are safe for EV use at the current time.

But it also indicates that structural strengthening may be required over the next five to ten years.

Concerns were raised by the panel in December that earlier structural and condition surveys, which talked about a £2 million investment to secure continued operation of the car parks over the next 15-20 years, did not address the increased load from electric vehicles.

Cllr Lee Finn (Con, Budshead) said 300 electric vehicles in a car park was a lot of extra weight and he referred to a car park collapse in New York where the weight of electric cars is believed to have played a part.

The city council says it has no plans to install further EV chargers within city centre car parks – there are currently 38. Western Approach has 18, the Theatre Royal 4, Regents Street 4, Derry’s Cross 2, St Andrew’s Street 2, Mayflower Street West 6 and Mayflower Street 2.

However, this will be reviewed as part of the work around the city centre masterplan – setting out when and where 10,000 homes will be built over the next decade.

The impacts on the transport network and parking demand and supply will be investigated as part of a integrated transport and parking strategy for the area.

The report says it will be subject to extensive public and stakeholder engagement.

City centre car parks that are underused may be utilised to house new residents in the future. At the current time there are 11 car parks where demand is lower than availability.

More than 400 wider parking spaces have been introduced across several car parks in the city centre to make parking easier for motorists.

The council says it has acknowledged that many of today’s vehicles are longer and wider than in the past.

Six new disabled parking bays have been installed at the Theatre Royal car park and the first hidden disability spaces intended for people with non-visible disabilities who do not require a standard Blue Badge-only parking space.

The council expects short stay parking to be over capacity on Saturday afternoons in the future.

Car parks are expected to generate an income of £5.3 million for the city council this year. It says this is “critical” for supporting the delivery of key services, including highways.

The report will be discussed by the scrutiny panel on Wednesday, October 22 at Council House at 2pm.