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Public Petitions Committee, 28 Jun 2005

28 Jun 2005 · S2 · Public Petitions Committee

Item of business

New Petitions

Erskine Bridge (Tolls) (PE869)

Councillor Andrew White (West Dunbartonshire Council): Watch on SPTV

I thank the convener and the committee for receiving the petition and for allowing me to make a brief statement. The petition is a joint petition by me, as leader of West Dunbartonshire Council, and Councillor Jim Harkins, as leader of Renfrewshire Council. Unfortunately, Jim cannot be here this morning because the committee meeting clashes with his full council meeting.As the committee will be aware, the Erskine Bridge Tolls Act 1968 introduced tolls on the Erskine bridge—the tolls started in 1971. We in West Dunbartonshire and people throughout the west of Scotland believe that the tolls are a burden to local people and an obstacle to the Scottish Executive achieving many of its policy objectives. Bringing a petition to the committee is not a starting point in our campaign to have the tolls removed, as my council has been campaigning for their removal since 2001. We have lobbied all transport ministers and we have also written to the First Minister. We are disappointed with the response that we have received. The Scottish Executive has committed itself to a review of tolls and has published a consultation document, "Tolled Bridges Review - Phase Two Consultation", which asks 20 questions. Unfortunately, none of those questions asks whether the tolls on the Erskine bridge should be removed. Therefore, we do not believe that our concerns will be addressed by the review. That is why we feel that the Public Petitions Committee is an appropriate place to take the issue forward.We believe that there are three main justifications for removing tolls on the Erskine bridge: social and economic reasons; transport and environmental reasons; and financial reasons. We believe that the abolition of tolls on the Erskine bridge is important to economic regeneration in our area. We believe that the tolls are a barrier that jobseekers face and that the bridge is the quickest way for West Dunbartonshire residents to get to the national motorway system. We believe that, if the tolls were scrapped, West Dunbartonshire would be more attractive to businesses. We believe that the tolls are a deterrent to businesses locating in West Dunbartonshire and to local people seeking employment on the other side of the bridge from where they live. We estimate that, if the tolls were scrapped, 100 jobs could be gained. That would be 100 people with jobs who need them more than the Executive needs the tolls. There is also the issue of access to health services. Unfortunately, because of centralisation of health services, a number of constituents in West Dunbartonshire have to access services in Paisley. Clearly, the tolls represent a barrier to the ability of residents in West Dunbartonshire to attend out-patient clinics regularly.We believe that scrapping the tolls would bring transport and environmental benefits at a local and a regional level. The improved efficiency that would result from enabling vehicles to travel at constant speeds without slowing down and queueing will improve air quality around the bridge. In that regard, we do not think that the bridge should be considered in isolation from the Kingston bridge and the Clyde tunnel. All three river crossings are linked in terms of travel choice. The Glasgow crossings are operating beyond capacity, whereas the Erskine bridge is operating considerably under capacity. That imbalance can be addressed by removing the tolls, which would also help to relieve congestion. The toll regime was established to pay for capital, administrative, maintenance and repair costs on the bridge until the capital cost was recovered. We believe that that purpose was met some time ago. We can see that, in 2003, income from the bridge was around £5.5 million and the 2000-01 accounts show a cumulative surplus of £13.75 million. This issue affects not only West Dunbartonshire and Renfrew. The petition and the campaign to have the tolls removed from the Erskine bridge have the cross-party support of seven councils in the west of Scotland. That display of unity across party lines shows the strength of feeling that the tolls should be scrapped. We believe that the Scottish Executive should not delay the decision any longer. We have been waiting for four years since the Erskine Bridge Tolls Act 2001 was passed. We believe that removing the tolls would be right and just and seek the Public Petitions Committee's support in that regard.

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Public Petitions Committee, 28 Jun 2005

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