Cllr Christopher Lee, Great Sankey Parish Council, tell Mersey Gateway public inquiry that tolls could help turn Great Sankey into a “car park”

Jun 4 2009 by Oliver Clay, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

GREAT Sankey Parish Council has warned that tolls could turn the area into a ‘car park’.

Christopher Lee, a Great Sankey councillor, said that although the parish wants a second bridge, some tolls could have serious consequences.

He said drivers who had to cross the bridge twice a day could pay up to £2,000 a year

And anyone unwilling to pay tolls would divert through Great Sankey towards Warrington.

He said the MG plans had not taken into account Peel Holdings’s predictions that there will be twice as many boats passing the Warrington swing bridge, which would slow traffic. Together these factors would turn Great Sankey into a ‘car park’, especially because heavy goods vehicles and coaches face charges of £4-10.

Alan Pauling, Mersey Gateway transport planner, said tolls would have ‘little impact’ on traffic through Warrington – an increase of 200 vehicles during peak hours. He added that LGVs would not be discouraged from using the bridge because their employer would pay.

Graham Russell, a Mersey Gateway planner and economist, said £2,000 a year was a ‘significant overestimate’ and that the annual cost to workers was more likely to be approximately £672.

Mr Lee also said Great Sankey residents with sick relatives in Halton General would effectively be paying a tax on visits. Clare Twigger-Ross, A Mersey Gateway social research consultant, said reliability for hospital trips would be improved by the bridge and that disabled badge holders would travel for free. She said Halton Council has ‘resolved to give frequent users a discount’.