Warburton Toll Bridge: Councils vote to oppose £1 charge

Lymm South councillor Graham Gowland told a meeting the planned increase was "unreasonable and disproportionate"

A bridge owner's plan to raise a toll for car drivers from 12p to £1 is to be formally opposed by two councils.

Peel Ports (PP) subsidiary Manchester Ship Canal Company proposed increased charges on Warburton Toll Bridge, which links Cheshire and Greater Manchester near Lymm, in July 2021.

Warrington Borough and Trafford Council both voted to oppose the move, which one councillor called "unreasonable".

PP said the extra revenue would fund a £6.5m bridge and road upgrade.

The firm's plans also include the installation of a free-flow tolling system, removing the need for toll booth collection and reducing delays.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Warrington's council approved the submission of a formal objection on Monday.

Lymm South councillor Graham Gowland told a meeting the planned increase was "unreasonable and disproportionate", while the council's executive member for transport Hans Mundry said residents' "pockets have already been hit".

Council leader Russ Bowden said he had written a "very strongly worded" objection to PP in August, but "none of it had been taken on board".

Trafford Council held a meeting on 13 January to agree its comments to the proposed changes.

James Wright, the authority's executive member for housing and regeneration, said the rise was a "mammoth increase" and the council was "very concerned about some of the proposed changes to the operation of the Warburton Toll Bridge".

"At a time when so many prices are rising fast, we are determined to see a fair deal for local residents and so have resolved to object the order on several key points," he added.

Warburton Toll Bridge

• The only route across the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal between the M6 and M60

• Links the villages of Rixton in Warrington, Cheshire to the north, with Warburton in Trafford, Greater Manchester to the south

• Created after the passing of the Rixton and Warburton Toll Bridge Act 1863, which gave the Manchester Ship Canal Company the right to build the bridge and then charge those crossing it

• Originally cost one person on horseback or in a cart 1p (the equivalent of 18p today) to cross

PP has submitted an application for an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992, which proposes new procedures for bridge operation, including new tolls, concessions, byelaws and collection arrangements.

The councils may require to have the objections heard at a public inquiry or before the secretary of state for transport.

The secretary of state must decide, within 28 days of the end of the objection period, whether to hold a public inquiry or a hearing, or whether to carry out "exchanges of written representations" between everyone involved.

A spokesman for Manchester Ship Canal Company said a non-statutory consultation showed that upgrades to the facilities, maintenance of the bridge and a reduction in travel times were "needed and very much welcomed".

The current 12p toll would not be able to fund the changes, he said.

"Alternative routes avoiding the bridge are available and we are proposing having a local user discount for those residents in the immediate vicinity, who use the crossing most regularly," the spokesman added.

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