DVS motor traffic inspector Gordon Forrest said several companies both local and from outside Jersey had responded to an expression of interest regarding a proposed facility.
The checks are being introduced as a result of a 2018 States decision to sign up to the Vienna Convention, with the government saying the treaty allows continued free movement of Jersey-registered vehicles in Europe post-Brexit, as long as they are certified as roadworthy.
Mr Forrest told an Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel hearing yesterday that responses to the expression of interest closed the day before, and they had received ‘a lot of interest’.
‘The next step will be the business case, which will finish by the end of July,’ he said.
The business case takes into account whether the government will carry out the
inspections or it will be franchised out, involving a tendering process, he said.
Panel member Deputy Graham Truscott had asked for an update on the steps being taken to establish a testing facility, with Andy Scate, director general of the Infrastructure Housing and Environment Department, saying work was ‘ongoing’ but had been delayed due to Covid.
In February, Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis said MOT-style checks may not be introduced until March 2024 due to pandemic-related delays to a consultation period with the motor industry.
Asked about a location for the facility, Mr Forrest said: ‘We looked extensively at the La Collette area. Unfortunately, virtually all of that falls within the blast zone [around the fuel farm where the Island’s fuel reserves are stored], so it’s not realistic to pursue the La Collette area.’
He said they were ‘actively looking’ at other sites, but it was too early to provide details of these.
Meanwhile, the head of DVS said it would require between 14 and 16 people to set up and run the facility, with administration on top of this.
