Phil Orford of the Forum of Private Business calls on Mersey Gateway chiefs to scrap plans for tolls on Silver Jubilee Bridge and new crossing

Jun 25 2009 by Mark Smith, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

AN ALLIANCE of businesses has called on Halton Council to follow Greater Manchester’s example and scrap plans for tolling on the proposed Mersey Gateway.

The Forum of Private Business (FPB), which represents 25,000 firms, claims struggling small companies from across the North West would be ‘unfairly’ hit by a plan to introduce tolls.

And the FPB is instead calling on Gateway chiefs to follow Greater Manchester, where a proposed congestion charging scheme to pay for public transport improvements was scrapped following a referendum.

Phil Orford, the FPB’s chief executive, said: “Clearing congestion by building a new bridge linking Runcorn with Widnes would be of direct benefit to businesses, but it would be wrong to fund it by forcing them to pay tolls on either crossing.

“The new bridge should be paid for by local councils donating their government transport grants, and if necessary, topped-up by council tax funds.”

Eric Sprakes of Sprakes Transport Services in Widnes – an FPB member – added: “We are based two minutes away from the Silver Jubilee Bridge and have trucks leaving the depot and using it every day.

“If both bridges are tolled, we will have no alternative and our costs will increase.”

Cllr Tony McDermott, said: “The region’s business community is fully behind this new bridge, which will bring new jobs and a unique regeneration opportunity to the area.

“The only way of funding a new bridge is to have tolls on both it and the Silver Jubilee Bridge.

“We’ve also committed to prioritising discounts on tolls for local and regular users.”