Tolls halved on one of England’s priciest crossings

Campaigners warmly welcomed the decision to slash charges on the Humber Bridge, with the Chancellor George Osborne saying that the Government also expected “radical” changes in the way it is run.

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart, who has been heavily involved in the campaign to reduce the tolls, said the Humber Bridge could at last “start boosting jobs and opportunity, not acting as a brake”.

He said: “The Labour government refused to hold a Treasury-led review despite constant requests and the high tolls and wasted capacity were another terrible legacy of the Labour years.

“I’m delighted the Government is delivering for the Humber area in a way that the last did not, despite the economic mess and the challenges to the public finances.

“Local people visiting loved ones in hospital, unemployed people seeking work on the other bank and small businesses trying to grow will all be helped by lower tolls and the end of the ridiculous situation in which 70 per cent of the bridge’s capacity is unused.”

Three bids were made following the announcement of a Treasury-led review earlier this year, the first by Hull businessman Malcolm Scott, and two later proposals by the Humber Bridge Board and North Lincolnshire Council. The Government has left the decision over how to run the bridge in the hands of the Bridge Board and local authorities, but says it expects a “radical reform package.

Mr Scott said: “We wanted the debt to be slashed and the tolls reduced and we wanted governance to be changed. All three of the headings have been dealt with, obviously we’d have liked to have gone further, but it was quite a result, compared to where we started less than a year ago.”

Hull North MP Diana Johnson was concerned tolls may start creeping up again. She said: “Given that users have already paid the cost of the bridge around three times over, I’m sure that the local campaign will continue with the aim of cancelling the remaining bridge debt and abolishing tolls in the longer term.”