Objection to new Thames bridge 'disappointing'

Reading Borough Council insist a third Thames bridge would reduce congestion on Reading (pictured) and Caversham Bridge

Objection to a proposed third Thames bridge in a town is "disappointing", a councillor has said.

The idea of another bridge aimed at reducing congestion on Caversham Bridge and Reading Bridge has been debated for decades, but recently formed part of Reading Borough Council's Local Transport Plan (LTP).

South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) wrote a letter to Reading Borough Council saying a third bridge would "increase traffic pressures" on local roads, "funnel" traffic through the Chilterns and be costly to maintain.

Reading councillor John Ennis accused SODC of "dismissing" traffic issues in the area and said a charge for motorists driving through Reading to get to other destinations might need to be introduced.

Mr Ennis told BBC Radio Berkshire SODC had "consistently blocked all attempts by Reading to progress a third bridge", much to the "frustration" of residents.

He said a new bridge would "result in congestion relief, quicker travel times, more reliable journeys and improvements in local air quality".

But a spokesperson for SODC said the bridge would "attract more through-traffic into parts of Reading" as well as put pressure "on other parts of the local road network", shifting the problem to South Oxfordshire and Wokingham.

'Big Brother-style monitoring'

Mr Ennis said if a third bridge could not be built the council would have to find "means and ways" of reducing traffic driving through Reading to reach other destinations - such as charges for "rat-running".

But councillor for the Sonning Common ward, Mike Giles, said such a scheme would result in "Big Brother-style monitoring of all of Reading's motorists".

"It's a Grinch-like attempt to try and coerce Oxfordshire's residents into agreeing with the bridge," he said.

Mr Ennis accused SODC of rejecting the borough council's plans without putting forward any of its own, but a spokesperson for SODC said the "starting point for any resolution" should be "non-car initiatives".