Costa, M&S and WH Smith close at Norwich electric forecourt

The Costa Coffee, M&S Food Hall and WH Smith shops at the Gridserve Norwich Electric Forecourt, off the A47 and NDR at Postwick, have all shut to prompt disappointment from EV drivers.

When the station opened in April 2022 it was the first of its kind in the region and Gridserve's second in the UK, offering shopping options alongside 22 high-power ports.

M&S, Costa and WHSmith were closed suddenly last week (Image: David Bradbrook)

But David Bradbrook, a regular visitor, said it looked like a "disaster zone" when he stopped there on Sunday. 

"I'm disappointed, it doesn't make any sense at all," he said.

"Only weeks after the Post Office there closed, the other three stores shut too, with Gridserve unable to offer any food or drinks to its customers.

David Bradbrook said the place looked like a disaster zone (Image: David Bradbrook)

"With no shops open the facility was much quieter than normal and there appears to be no arrangements for customers charging their cars to obtain refreshments."

A Gridserve spokeswoman said in response: "We are currently updating our retail offering at Norwich Electric Forecourt to meet the evolving demands of our customers.

"We look forward to announcing our exciting new partners for Norwich in the near future and an opening date for our new retail partner will be confirmed in due course."

Costa Coffee will return following the refit but M&S, WHSmith or the Post Office will not (Image: David Bradbrook)

Further to the firm's plan, the space will get a refit soon and Costa is due to reopen once it is completed but M&S, WH Smith and the Post Office will not return.

EV charging remains available but concerns have been raised about more than just the lack of tea and coffee. 

David added: "This closure with zero warning is bad news for all the brands concerned, especially Gridserve.

Gridserve Norwich Electric Forecourt opened in April 2022 (Image: Newsquest)

"If the big names could not make Postwick profitable, how will others? And how did Gridserve allow this situation to develop?"

Green district councillor for the area Eleanor Laming was surprised by the news. 

"It's a real shame for the local area," she said.

"The shops at the forecourt were a very useful business provision and it's been a nice place to sit, shop and have a coffee. 

Brundall councillor Eleanor Laming said the business closures were a shame (Image: Newsquest)

"And while there is still a Costa just over the road, the area is not particularly walkable so it's not always a suitable option."

She added that Broadland Gate is seeing a boom in drive-through services.

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In March, proposals for a new Starbucks and Burger King in the business park were recommended for approval by council officials even after concerns were raised about the increased level of traffic the businesses would bring to the area.

Gridserve opened the UK's first all-electric forecourt in Braintree, Essex, in December 2020 amid much fanfare and media attention.

Toddington Harper, founder of Gridserve (Image: PA Wire)

EV cars charging at Gridserve's forecourt near Braintree, which was the UK's first all-electric charging site when it opened in December 2020 (Image: PA Wire)

The company has dozens of charging sites across the country and opened its third forecourt in January, near Gatwick Airport's south terminal in West Sussex.

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Upon opening, the company described how the "internal format is quite different" to its Norwich site, with the upstairs area split into three zones.

This features a Little Fresh convenience store featuring Amazon's Just Walk Out payment technology alongside a Costa Coffee and an "electric vehicle experience area" with information about EVs and retail options available.

According to the RAC's latest figures, there are just over one million battery electric cars on the UK's road, with a further 600,000 plug-in hybrids.