Committee
Public Petitions Committee, 28 Jun 2005
28 Jun 2005 · S2 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
New Petitions
Erskine Bridge (Tolls) (PE869)
Councillor White:
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It has been raised by COSLA. In 2001, I made representations to Sarah Boyack, who was the then Minister for Transport and Planning, asking for tolls to be removed from the Erskine bridge. The response was that tolls could not be removed from the bridge. Two weeks later, they were removed, because someone forgot to renew the toll order. That is a side issue, however. We raised the matter with COSLA at that time at a leaders' meeting, at which we received support for the proposal that an economic impact assessment should be carried out before the tolls were renewed. We also received support from COSLA on considering the wider benefits of the removal of the tolls.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
Our first new petition this morning is PE869, by Councillor Andrew White, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to require the Scottish Executive to remove ...
Councillor Andrew White (West Dunbartonshire Council):
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 l...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
It will come as no surprise to the committee that I am persuaded by the arguments that have been presented in favour of scrapping the tolls on the Erskine br...
Councillor White:
A study was undertaken into the benefits of removing the tolls on the Erskine bridge and the effect that that could have on congestion on the Kingston bridge...
Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab):
Ind
Good morning. I admit to being open minded about the matter—I am here to be convinced of the case for ending the tolls on the Erskine bridge in isolation. Yo...
Councillor White:
The council's economic development team worked with colleagues in Renfrewshire Council to look at the situation. Their work suggests that at least 100 jobs c...
Mike Watson:
Ind
You are saying that 100 new jobs could be created if the bridge were toll free. The issue is not that the weekly £6.20 cost of crossing the bridge means that...
Councillor White:
Obviously, we have looked at the fact that the bridge tolls are a barrier to people in West Dunbartonshire accessing jobs on the other side of the river. I g...
Mike Watson:
Ind
You said that several local authorities have supported your case. Is Glasgow City Council one of them?
Councillor White:
Glasgow would be the eighth council to support our case. Seven local authorities—West Dunbartonshire Council, Argyll and Bute Council, Renfrewshire Council, ...
Mike Watson:
Ind
You have lobbied the former Minister for Transport and Glasgow City Council, so we will see what that brings. As I live in Glasgow, I am familiar with the pr...
Councillor White:
After looking at the matter with our colleagues, we believe that removing tolls on the Erskine bridge would relieve the pressure on some parts of Glasgow, su...
Mike Watson:
Ind
Finally, are you against bridge tolls in general or just the tolls on the Erskine bridge? Do you have a view on the tolls on the Tay and Forth bridges? Indee...
Councillor White:
The toll situations on the Forth, Tay and Erskine bridges should be considered on their own merits. As an elected representative and leader of West Dunbarton...
John Scott (Ayr) (Con):
Con
I have to say that Mike Watson has largely asked the questions that I wanted to ask.
Mike Watson:
Ind
You always say that.
John Scott:
Con
I absolutely do not.I did not catch the name of the institution that carried out the work from which you concluded that removing the tolls would create 100 j...
Councillor White:
The work was carried out by experts in West Dunbartonshire Council's economic development division in consultation with Renfrewshire Council. In addition, Sc...
John Scott:
Con
Was it the same team that carried out the congestion studies?
Councillor White:
Yes.
Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab):
Lab
Has the issue been raised with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities?
Councillor White:
It has been raised by COSLA. In 2001, I made representations to Sarah Boyack, who was the then Minister for Transport and Planning, asking for tolls to be re...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
Would it be worth your raising the issue with COSLA again, given that second stage consultation on the tolls on all the remaining tolled bridges in Scotland ...
Councillor White:
That might be a good way forward. I am sure that the COSLA transport convener would be interested to hear that suggestion about a conference. I am particular...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
The papers that we have received tell us that the Scottish Executive is considering the 120-year payback time that applies to any bridge. The older that brid...
Councillor White:
I do not accept that logic. There will of course be on-going maintenance and repair costs for the Erskine bridge. We estimate that those costs come to around...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
Do you accept that none of your points addresses the need for on-going and increased maintenance? Your arguments address debt issues only. We should take acc...
Councillor White:
On the last point, I said that I believed that COSLA would make a submission to the review. However, because of the area that I represent, I am particularly ...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
It is interesting to think about an overall transport plan. Bridges are just an extension of the roads system. We spend lots of money on roads maintenance, j...
Councillor White:
Removal of the tolls on the bridge would increase traffic flow and support the development of an integrated transport system. There is absolutely no doubt th...