Severn Bridge toll: Conservatives promise to scrap charges ~ station of gear

PM Theresa May wants to end toll charges on the Severn Bridge, but opponents accuse her of copying their policy

2017-05-16 17:20

Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to scrap the Severn Bridge toll if a Conservative Government is formed after next month’s general election, arguing that the move would trigger a £100m boost for the local economy.

Plans to more than halve the current standard fare to £3 were already being explored when a public consultation was launched in January, forming part of wider proposal to transfer the bridge into public ownership by 2018. The bridge needs an estimated budget of £7m annually for maintenance work.

At present it costs motorists £6.70 to cross the Severn Bridge into Wales in a car, while vans and small buses pay £13.40 for the privilege, and lorries and coaches pay £20. Traffic crossing in the other direction to leave Wales does not currently pay a toll.

While the Prime Minister’s pledge has been recognised as a step forward by parties in the Welsh Assembly, opponents have accused the Conservatives of copying a policy that has been championed by others for years.

Labour has committed to working with the Welsh Government - controlled by First Minister Carwyn Jones’s Welsh Labour in coalition with two other AMs - to end the charges on the Severn crossing.

However, other parties have dismissed the Prime Minister’s promise as electioneering with voters going to the polls in just three weeks’ time.

Would you be glad to see the back of the Severn Bridge toll? Let us know in the comments section...

Joe Holding

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