Spat should not mean delay in halving Humber Bridge tolls

The Government is writing off £150m of the Humber Bridge’s debt, but wants to see the burden of the remaining debt, some £182m, shared equally between four local authorities.

East Riding Council, Hull Council and North Lincolnshire Council believe they and North East Lincolnshire should underwrite a 25 per cent share of the debt each.

But North East Lincolnshire, which is not a member of the Humber Bridge Board, says that would place an unfair burden on its residents and wants it divided per head of population instead.

The row comes after years of discussion on the impact of the tolls on the local economy. In November Chancellor George Osborne announced the tolls would be slashed. It followed a Treasury-led review which sparked three bids – the first by Hull businessman Malcolm Scott and two later proposals by the Humber Bridge Board and North Lincolnshire Council.

The bids all offered the Government £100m in exchange for writing off the bridge’s debts.

The Government has left the decision over how to run the bridge in the hands of the Bridge Board and local authorities, but has called for a “radical reform package”.

North East Lincolnshire made its feelings clear at a meeting last week, following a full council vote. Leader Coun Chris Shaw said: “I am not prepared to sign my residents up to a larger share of the debt than anyone else. If that means I can’t sit at the Bridge Board and drink coffee in the Bridge Board offices that’s a small price to pay.”

Currently Hull is liable for the vast majority of the debt, which means taxpayers in the city would have to stump up interest owed to the Treasury if there was any default. But this has never happened in the board’s 30-year history.

Coun Shaw said they preferred to see the debt shared per head of population across the four local authority areas, at around £198 per head. But if the other council’s plans went through, residents in North East Lincolnshire could be liable to £283 each, compared to just £133 each in the East Riding.

Coun Shaw added: “We will pick up our fair share like the others but I am not prepared to pick up a greater share than anywhere else.”

Hull Council leader Steve Brady said he was disappointed by North East Lincolnshire Council’s stance but remained confident that an agreement could be made in time to satisfy the Government and ensure tolls come down on April 1.

He said: “It is disappointing. I felt that we could come to an agreement and I believe North East Lincolnshire are worrying unduly about this paper debt which has been with Hull for 30 years.

“No one in Hull has had a sleepless night about it in 30 years. “The Government won’t want to be shaken off what was a big announcement. I believe that while it is an irritant at the present time, I think it will be resolved and the tolls will come down on April 1.”

Agreement needs to be made by February for tolls to come down in April. Under the plans a crossing for a car will be halved to £1.50 and lorries to £10.15. It will also mean an end to tolls for motorcyclists.

For many years, the bridge tolls have been seen as a barrier to growth. And with the approval of two enterprise zones for the region earlier this year, the issue has become the subject of renewed focus.

The chairman of the Humber Bridge Board, Coun Dave Gemmell, said the matter was between the four local authorities. As part of the reform package the Government says it expects, Coun Gemmell said they were looking to reduce from the 22 councillors on the Board to just eight, then just one for each council. Two members from the private sector would join the board.

Although hard-pressed motorists and freight companies may have thought the tolls would stay the same, Coun Gemmell said they were only “inflation-proofed” until 2015 – and would then start going up again. He said: “Like all other crossings, it will automatically go up by inflation every year.

“It’s not only that the whole of the debt has to be written off, you would need £5m to £6m from the Government each year to run the bridge and you get either get that from tolls or the Government.

“Unless the Government decided they were going to take it into central taxation there will always have to be a toll.”

Recent work to dehumidify the cables, he said, had cost £13m to £15m.