Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge toll charges could be set to rise for first time in over seven years

​Toll charges on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridges could be set to rise in April 2025 under recommendations submitted to Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board this week by the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board (MGCB)*.

The recommended increase would:

• be the first in seven and a half years since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened
• raise the unregistered toll charge for all vehicle categories by around 20%
• increase the toll charge for unregistered cars from £2 to £2.40
• mean toll charges have increased by less than the cumulative RPI inflation rate since the bridge opened – which has already reached 40%.

In order to fund the project over its lifetime, it was always expected that toll charges would need to increase annually in line with inflation, but Halton Borough Council has been able to defer annual increases to minimise costs to motorists.

The MGCB’s recommendations set out a forward-looking plan where, if toll charges are increased by around 20% next April, then, barring unforeseen circumstances, they will remain at that level for three years. This would mean that by April 2028, toll charges would have increased just once in the first 11 years of the project.

Customers registered with toll operator merseyflow would continue to get discounted crossings where they are eligible as set out below:

• Registered pre-pay customers and monthly pass holders – specific discounted prices have not yet been finalised, but it is anticipated they would also increase by around 20%. This would mean a toll charge of £2.16 for sticker registered Class 2 vehicles compared to £2.40 for unregistered Class 2 vehicles.
• Local User Discount Scheme plan holders – the cost of a LUDS plan would increase by £2. However, there is a proposal for a discount to £10 for those eligible Halton residents who renew via auto renewal.
• Blue Badge holders – there is a proposed change to the Blue Badge scheme. This would see the current arrangement replaced by a scheme where vehicles that are registered in the Disabled Taxation class and are fully exempt from vehicle tax, would be able to cross for free without any registration requirement. This is a simpler approach widely used on other tolled routes across England. (UPDATE: The proposed change to the Blue Badge scheme was rejected by Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board on 24 October 2024, so this is no longer part of the consultation).
• Penalty Charge Notices – it is proposed that PCNs would increase from £40 to £50 in line with the toll charge increase.

If plans are given the go-ahead to move forward by Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board, there will be a consultation starting in November around these proposals and the adoption of an updated Road User Charging Scheme Order (RUCSO), which is the legal document that sets out the toll charges.

Government grants form a critical part of the Mersey Gateway funding package

The majority of funding for the Mersey Gateway Project has and will continue to come from toll charges paid by people who use the bridges. The remainder comes from the Department for Transport (DfT), which provides tens of millions of pounds of funding for the project every year. Without this subsidy from Government, the project would make a significant annual loss.

The Executive Board report details the government grants issued to the Council over the first five and a half years of operating the project and the amount of unused grant that has now been returned to the DfT.

Halton Borough Council is repaying unused grant back to the DfT because it receives this grant funding in advance based on an agreed estimate. Once the actual revenue and expenditure is known each financial year, then the amount of grant that is required is calculated, and any unused grant is then returned to the DfT at the relevant review period.

This unused grant cannot be used to offset the increase in tolls as it belongs to the DfT.

• In total, the DfT provided operating grants of £138 million to the project from October 2017 to March 2023
• £85.35 million of this DfT grant was used to help fund the project.
• In line with original funding agreement,
  • £44.75 million, representing 85% of the unused grant, has now been returned to the DfT, and
  • the remaining £7.9million, representing 15% of unused grant, has been retained by Halton Council to contribute towards the operation, maintenance and improvement of the Silver Jubilee Bridge and any public transport initiatives in the Council’s Local Transport Plan.

Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said “The whole council team is pleased that we’ve been able to keep toll charges the same for over seven years, as well as providing discounts for eligible Halton residents and regular users of the bridges. I would urge anyone who uses the bridge in Halton regularly to register with merseyflow as that is the only way to get discounts on your crossings and it makes managing your payments so much easier.”

Cllr Stef Nelson, Halton Borough Council’s portfolio holder for Environment and Urban Renewal, said: “We always knew that we would need to adjust tolls for inflation to meet the costs of maintaining and operating the bridges. The recommendations from the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board set out a sustainable approach to doing that.”

He added: “In terms of the retained grant funding, this isn’t a surprise or a sudden windfall. It is the funding mechanism for the project working exactly as all parties involved expected it to. It has been part of the Council’s budget planning process over the past couple of years, and it has allowed Halton Council to continue to fund essential public transport services.”

Photo credit: Ian Cank