Severn bridges publicly owned from January 8
THE two Severn Bridges will become public property on January 8 next year – allowing the tolls to be scrapped later in the year, the Government has confirmed.
Transport Minister Jesse Norman gave the confirmation in a letter to Monmouth MP David Davies.
Tolls have been charged for crossing both bridges for more than 20 years, ever since the Second Severn Crossing was built in 1996. The original Severn Bridge was built in 1966.
The debt that funded the building of the newer bridge will be full paid off by January 8 2018, enabling them to become public property.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport Mr Norman wrote: “I am pleased to confirm that the Bridges will revert to public ownership on January 8 2018 and that all tolls will end by the 31 December 2018.” The minimum charge is for cars, where drivers have to pay, at the moment, £6.70. The most expensive toll is for buses with 18 seats or more and 3,500kg goods vehicles, where drivers have to pay £20.
The announcement from the
Department for Transport comes after the Conservative Government pledged to scrap the tolls during election campaigning this year.
Prime Minister Theresa May said in May that her party would scrap tolls for all vehicles during the 2017 General Election campaign.
Her party had already announced earlier in the year they would look to slash costs to £3. Highways England will assume responsibility for Severn Crossings in 2018.
During the General Election campaign she said she wanted to “ensure that our economic progress is shared across the United Kingdom”.
“By abolishing tolls for 25 million annual journeys between two nations we will strengthen the links between communities. This will drive economic growth right across the country helping key economic centres in Cardiff, Bath, Bristol and Newport. By significantly reducing the cost of doing business between Wales and England, the Conservatives continue to deliver on improving the economic prospects of ordinary working people”.
The Wales Office expects the removal of the charges to boost the South Wales economy by around £100m a year. Property experts have said it could also impact house prices near the bridges.
Neil Williams, director at Martin & Co and CJ Hole, which operates on both sides of the bridge, has already seen a number of buyers priced out of Bristol and believes the scrapping of the toll will increase the number of people moving across the bridge. We have seen an influx of landlords and investors buying properties [in Newport] as they can still achieve good yields compared to Bristol, and I believe the scrapping of the tolls will increase demand substantially to many Bristol buyers especially younger buyers and those on lower incomes who were put off with the tolls,” said Mr Williams.
“Newport not only has excellent road links but many easily accessible junctions onto the motorway making an easy commute, often quicker than travelling across Bristol. “Prices in parts of Newport are still subdued and are still below what they were 10 years ago but other areas have seen a 20-30% increase over the last year.
“I feel the scrapping of the tolls will have a positive upward increase, more prominent in some parts especially with good motorway access.”
AT last we know that the Severn bridges will come into public ownership in January 2018, with the tolls ending later in the year.
This is a cause for legitimate celebration. The tolls have been punitive for people living in Wales, an unnecessary burden on businesses based here, and an inhibition to investment.
In future, the cost of travelling into Wales by road will be no greater than travelling in the opposite direction – as it should be.
We hope the end of tolls will result in an economic boost for Welsh businesses, as they have long argued that it would.
There are, however, other potential consequences of the change which won’t necessarily be as positive.
Considerable concern already exists about traffic congestion in the Newport area. The Brynglas Tunnels are notorious among road users for the delays that occur in peak hours.
There remains no certainty about improvements to the road network that have been discussed for many years.
With tolls ending, there is a strong likelihood that traffic flows will increase still further, with the probability that congestion will get even worse.
While there has been much talk about improvements to the public transport network, especially focusing on the South Wales Metro, nothing tangible has yet occurred. As so often, action in Wales is proceeding at a snail’s pace. The scrapping of the tolls next year must lead to a step-up in progress.
There are also strong grounds for believing that developers and estate agents will see areas like Newport and Chepstow as extensions of the Bristol commuter belt. House prices will certainly rise – something that may please those who already own their homes, but that may not be quite so welcome to those local Welsh people hoping to do so.
Some opportunistic Bristol-centric house-buyers may not appreciate that they are moving into a different country which can make its own laws and which has its own education system, for example. They may not realise that their children will be expected to learn Welsh at school, and when they find out that is the case, some may object.
To minimise this kind of potentially negative reaction and impact, it may be appropriate for the Welsh Government, in collaboration with councils, developers and estate agents, to put effective plans in place to ensure people are aware of how things can be different on this side of the Severn bridges.
As Brexit looms, it’s important that whatever steps can be taken to improve Wales’ economic outlook are used to the nation’s advantage. Clearly that includes scrapping the tolls.
But we also need to ensure that the cultural integrity of Wales is not damaged by turning the country’s south-east corner into little more than an outpost of the west of England.
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