Toll free Who’ll be the winners and losers when bridge tolls are abolished this year?
The Severn Bridges will be toll-free by the end of the year. Hannah Baker speaks to experts on both sides of the bridge about the impact it will have on businesses
ITS renaming has caused howls of outrage in Wales and the planned removal of its tolls has created fierce debate around traffic congestion in Bristol, but will businesses benefit when the Prince of Wales Bridge (better known as the Severn Bridge) becomes free to cross?
The M4 bridge, which was built in 1996 and stretches across the Severn Estuary between Severn Beach and south-east Wales, is set to become toll-free by the end of 2018.
Currently, some 80,000 vehicles use the two Severn Bridges (the first crossing, a suspension bridge from Aust, South Gloucestershire, to Chepstow, was built in 1966) every day, but by the end of the year the charges of £5.60 for cars, £11.20 for vans and £16.70 for buses and lorries will be removed.
People commuting over the bridge are set to save more than £1,200 a year – and it is predicted that many more commuters will drive to Bristol instead of taking public transport as a result.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has said that the removal of the tolls will “make a huge difference” to those who use the Prince of Wales Bridge regularly and will mean more people can cross in both directions to seek jobs and business opportunities.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We know that demand on roads around the crossing will continue to grow, which is why we are looking at the investment needs of the South West as part of the next round of the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS), and as part of our commitment to improving journeys across the UK.”
The Government has said that getting rid of the bridge tolls will speed up traffic and boost the Welsh and South West economies by making travel between the regions easier.
But North Bristol SusCom – a traffic-combatting group representing 40,000 employees working across the Bristol and South Gloucestershire region – has accused ministers of being “oblivious” to the problems their decision will cause.
“Removing the tolls entirely could mean even more of an increase and that would lead to diabolical traffic during peak hours,” said Ann O’Driscoll, North Bristol SusCom director.
“People are excited to save all this money but they haven’t improved buses or trains – it is really poor planning.
“The Government has been oblivious to the implications. I agree there will be positives in this but not if everyone is stuck in traffic.
With dichotomous views on the plans for the bridge – on both sides of the river – what will it really mean for business?
Here, two directors from one property consultancy share their views from either end of the bridge.
Simon Peacock, lead director in JLL’s Bristol office, pictured left
The removal of the tolls for the Severn Bridges is removing an artificial barrier that has lasted for 50 years. In the long run it will be a boost to both economies but short term, there are real and legitimate concerns. With traffic levels expected to increase between 12 and 20 per cent at peak times on an already busy motorway, if co-ordinated transport investment is not forthcoming, further congestion and delays are bound to follow.
Nonetheless, there is little doubt there will be greater freedom of non-peak time movement across the region. And this isn’t only good news for our friends in Wales. We fully expect retail and leisure in this neck of the woods to see an upturn as people in Newport decide to turn right instead of left more often for their retail and leisure fix.
Everywhere from Cribbs Causeway to Wild Place, Bristol Zoo and We the Curious will receive a boost. Given the rapidly changing face of retail and the high street this is likely to have a knock-on effect in Newport.
Bristol businesses are struggling to find all the skills they need to continue to grow so anything that makes it more cost effective to travel to Bristol will be good for the city’s employment and growth.
This will create”more choice for everyone and put skilled workers within reach of the logistics and warehouse employers around Avonmouth who have struggled to find staff.
Land around Bristol is in short supply, meaning relocating businesses currently have few options. The tolls removal has provided developers with sufficient confidence, despite uncertainty over Brexit, to build – on both sides of the water.
As well as a financial barrier, the tolls have been a psychological barrier. I believe we will see businesses working more closely together, sharing more skills and ideas – leading to greater innovation. We have to remember we have more to gain working together as one region.
The real gap to bridge is that of transport investment, to both
❝
Ann O’Driscoll, Sustrans
❝
Everywhere from Cribbs Causeway to Wild Place, Bristol Zoo and We the Curious will receive a boost. Given the rapidly changing face of retail this is likely to have a knock-on effect in Newport
match the expected rise in demand and provide sustainable options. The alternative is M25-style congestion.
Chris Sutton, lead director in JLL’s Cardiff office
The abolition of the bridge tolls in December removes the westward queues at the toll plaza. More importantly, it removes the perception, and indeed the reality, of paying to do business in Wales. The M4 is, after all, the route to market for two-thirds of the Welsh economy.
JLL lobbied hard for the removal of the tolls, working with the CBI to highlight the impact upon business sentiment and the benefits of crossborder working.
For the regular commuter, the financial benefit is up to £1,500 a year. And this time next year we will have 25 acres of prime land at the toll plaza to develop.
Once the tolls are gone, we will see major distribution warehousing, currently based firmly on the Avonmouth stretch of the M49 for the likes of Amazon and The Range,