Borough boss looks back over two years of Gateway
THE Mersey Gateway bridge has already proved ‘a really big success’, Halton Council’s chief executive has said two years after the controversial crossing opened.
David Parr said: “I can’t strongly emphasise enough how positive Mersey Gateway has been.
“Businesses are telling me on a regular basis that it’s making it easier to move their goods around and they can do it in a way which is consistent.”
His warms words come as a campaign group describes the bridge as ‘one of the worst things to happen to our region in the last decade.’
The bridge has received plenty of complaints since it opened – with accusations that it is ripping motorists off and that the way its toll system works is set up to lead drivers into paying fines. But Mr Parr had only positives to say about the huge structure.
In the past year, he said, house prices in Halton have risen 7.5% and the borough has seen an increase in new business start-ups while neighbouring boroughs have seen the number of new businesses decline.
Mr Parr said this was evidence to suggest that the bridge was already improving the local economy and on course to deliver the 4,640 new jobs
● promised by 2030 as a result of the crossing.
He said: “It’s always complicated, because the economy is a complicated thing, but we are certainly having a lot of interest from businesses that want to operate in Halton.”
Among those businesses are train-repair company Alstom and Liberty Park owners Stoford, which are both looking to expand their presence in Widnes, while there is also continued investment in
Sci-Tech Daresbury and Stobart Group’s biomass business.
Mr Parr said: “There’s an awful lot of private investment coming into the area and we don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
Part of the challenge now, he acknowledged, was ensuring people from Halton were able to access the jobs generated by this investment.
He said, ‘that’s something we are absolutely committed to’, adding that the council was working with its partners to ensure people from Halton were able to learn the skills required by businesses in the area.
Mr Parr said: “These things take time and effort, but if we weren’t creating business opportunities, there would be no jobs for these people.”
Not everyone views the Mersey Gateway as a success.
Campaign group Scrap
●
Mersey Tolls, which claims there was no need for the bridge to be tolled and that the charges have been levied unlawfully, described the bridge as ‘one of the worst things to happen to our region in the last decade’.
The group has claimed total journeys across the estuary were still down on 2016 and said the £21.9m received in fines represented ‘at least an unwelcome nuisance and in many cases has caused extreme distress’.
But Mr Parr pointed to the rising number of journeys and the falling number of fines being issued as evidence people were starting to get used to the tolls, which have brought in a total of more than £90m, including penalties, since the bridge opened. He said: “People are starting to think that for a small amount of money, that it saves them time and gives them the opportunity to use that time for other purposes.
“There will always be a group of people who are unhappy about paying tolls, but that is a £600m investment and it needs to be paid for.”
Along with economic benefits, Mr Parr said quicker journey times across the estuary had brought social benefits to the area as people were no longer getting stuck on the congested Silver Jubilee Bridge.
He said: “Halton Council’s social workers can now visit more families to look after and support them looking after their children or to support older people in their homes than they used to be able to because there’s not significant downtime sitting in a traffic jam.
“That’s a significant social benefit for people in Halton. That’s just one very, very simple example of how Mersey Gateway is making a difference to people’s lives.”
The Silver Jubilee Bridge is now due to open fully next summer, the date having been pushed back again to allow for roadworks to take place on the Runcorn side of the bridge. This too will be tolled, but the council expects it to be used more for short journeys between Widnes and Runcorn, providing an alternative route over the Mersey while those travelling further will use the Gateway.