‘Bridges should be toll free ... once the bills are paid’

HALTON Borough Council’s chief executive said the local authority supports tolls eventually being removed from the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridges once the ‘bills are paid’.

Charges to use the new crossing between Runcorn and Widnes were enforced as soon as it opened just after midnight on Saturday, October 14.

David Parr, chief executive of both Halton Borough Council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said two free to user crossings is what the local authority ‘aspire to’ and will work hard with the Government to get to that point.

Mr Parr said it will be at least 25 years to ‘pay the bills’ for the crossing.

In a BBC article, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said there is ‘no reason’ for tolls on the Mersey Gateway once the £600m building costs are paid for and that he expects once ‘the bridge is paid for, the tolls go’.

Mr Parr said the council welcomes Mr Grayling’s comments and highlighted the announcement earlier this year that tolls on the Severn Bridge between England and Wales will be scrapped in 2018 as a potential route forward.

He said: “As a local authority we’ve been asking Government for no tolls for a long, long time.

“We would prefer it to be sooner rather than later – it’s 25 years.

“I think the decision has to be taken by the decision makers at the time. We would support it.

“We shouldn’t also forget however there will be maintenance costs and what we will be saying to Government at that time is yes, please take the tolls off, but just like you’ve done with the Severn Crossing, make sure the national road budget is paying for the maintenance cost because ongoing maintenance still needs to be picked up as well.

“But we’d certainly support a toll-free crossing as soon as possible.”

He said: “I think the bills have to be paid is the starting point. This is a £600m project and it has to be paid for.

“The Government’s position is that estuarial crossings such as this are paid for through a toll regime.

“None of us like that, the council’s not comfortable with that. We’d prefer a free to use facility.

“But the rules we were asked to work towards to deliver this and to reduce congestion was to work within a tolled regime.”

Mr Parr highlighted the impact former council leader Cllr Tony McDermott and incumbent Cllr Rob Polhill on the journey of more than 20 years of trying to get the new bridge built with the Govern- ment. He said that he has spoken to ‘about 20’ transport ministers during his time on the project and expects to speak to more in the future.

He said: “Cllr McDermott has driven it when he was leader of the council and then Cllr Polhill’s taken over that mantle.

“They’ve been very brave and they’ve spoken to businesses, they’ve spoken to local people, they’ve spoken to Government ministers, and they’ve been constantly pushing for what is an important infrastructure.

“Most of the people we’ve spoken to don’t sit on Silver Jubilee every morning in congestion.

“We do, we know the borough, we know the impact that congestion has on our local businesses, our local people.”

When asked about if there are concerns the tolls might discourage firms from setting up in the borough, Mr Parr highlighted the various investments made by companies across Runcorn and Widnes over the last few years.

He highlighted Alstom’s presence in Widnes and the investment at both SciTech Daresbury and Manor Park in Runcorn.

Mr Parr also spoke of the continued investment Stobart makes in the borough and the LPW plant which will be producing ‘world class’ powder for 3D printing.

He said: “It’s not just the old industries investing, it’s new industries investing.

“I don’t think they would have done that without the Silver Jubilee being refurbished and Mersey Gateway coming on stream.”

Though Mr Parr said the council was ‘not complacent’ regarding tolls and it being a factor firms will consider, he highlighted the consequences which the alternative to not building the Mersey Gateway would have been.

This included shutting the Silver Jubilee Bridge for the ‘best part’ of two years.

Mr Parr said: “We have to look at it in the context of where we’d be without Mersey Gateway.

“We would be closing Silver Jubilee for the best part of two years.

“The question that businesses need to think about and the public need to think about is how would Halton’s economy operate with no bridge over the estuary for a two year period? So we’ve future proofed the economy of the borough.”

He added: “There’s a discount for most users, so we think the benefits people will get to their improved quality of life and the more time it will give businesses to make money and to create employment, we think that is a price worth paying and time will tell of course.”