John McGoldrick of the National Alliance Against Tolls slams “lack of financial detail”

Jun 4 2009 by Mark Smith, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

AN ANTI-TOLL campaigner has slammed what he claims is a lack of financial detail submitted by the Mersey Gateway team.

Speaking during the public inquiry, John McGoldrick of the National Alliance Against Tolls drew comparisons between the project and a medieval con trick where people were sold cats in a bag and told they were pigs.

Cross examining finance expert Paul Threllfall, he said: “I’m an accountant and there are hardly any figures in the financial parts (of the document).

“You say that’s because the figures are commercially sensitive, but isn’t that like asking people to buy a pig in a poke?”

Mr Threllfall also confirmed that no decision had yet been made on whether the council or a private sector partner would set tolling levels.

Mr McGodrick later claimed during his cross examination of council chief executive David Parr that Warrington Council had been set to object to the new bridge.

But Mr Parr revealed that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the two authorities which could see Warrington receive financial support if the bridge led to increased traffic on their side of the border.

Steve Nicholson, project director for the Gateway team, later revealed that the cost of making the bridge a tolled structure had added an extra £20m to development costs.

And he added that despite the fact usage was expected to drop away due to tolls in the short term, traffic levels would recover by 2030.