Agenda item

To consider the attached report.

The Director of Planning and Economic Development, John Preston, introduced the report on the government consultation on revising charges at the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing.

It was noted that the present bridge and tunnel had been paid for by 2003. The charges were originally set up as a Toll and has since 2003, been designated as a congestion charge.

The consultation concerned proposals for the short, medium and long term. In the short term, charges would be increased in November 2011 and then again in April 2012. Increase use of the Dart Tag would also be encouraged. In the medium term a free flow charging regime would be introduced, where the payment would be made electronically and not manually. In the longer term the Government was considering additional crossing capacity. Development of these options would be partially funded from the increased charges for the existing crossings.

The South East Local Enterprise Partnership has considered the consultation and objected to the proposals for a number of reasons, that:

• the charges create congestion in their own right and should be dispensed with as soon as possible.
• in any event adjustment to increases charges cause substantial delays at the booths and a two stage increase is therefore twice the problem (very few such journeys are by locals)
• 10 miles of queues before freeing up the booths was too high a threshold representing in the order of 2 hours to get over the river.
• fast track technology was essential before any increase.
  .

On consideration the Committee amended the draft response in the report to read:

1. It is our preferred preference that all congestion charges in respect of this crossing should be ceased as soon as possible. This would reduce the environmental impacts of queuing traffic, reduce congestion, and assist businesses.
2. That, if a new further crossing needs to be designed with new technology, and has new tolls to pay for its construction, then this is acceptable.
3. If the Government will not cease charges, then charges should only rise after new technology allowing free flowing use of the crossing is introduced, (which could allow up to 1800 vehicles per lane per hour) and that any further increases in such charges should be introduced infrequently thereafter, and not in such frequent successive stages.
4. That variable message signs, rather than fixed signs indicating what the charges are should be introduced.
5. That, if for any reason the queue associated with the crossing reaches Junction 30 southbound or Junction 2 northbound, that the charges should be suspended until the queue has reduced to Junction 31 southbound and Junction 1 northbound.
6. That the three local Members of Parliament, the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Federation of Small Businesses are copied this Council’s response.
7. That as soon as information is available that there is a problem on the crossing that the variable message signs, in particular on the M11 approaching the M25 southbound, should indicate this so that drivers can choose a different route so that they are better informed to avoid congestion.

RESOLVED:

That the above points be relayed to the Government on the Dartford Crossing Charges consultation.