Tories ready to bring back tolls for new Forth bridge

Published on Monday 18 May 2009 10:02

SCOTTISH Tories say they are ready to reintroduce tolls for the new Forth Road Bridge if there is no other way of paying for the crossing.

The party's transport spokesman, Alex Johnstone, said bringing back bridge tolls – scrapped by the SNP in February last year – would be a "position of last resort".

But his warning that such a move might be necessary was echoed by Edinburgh's Conservative group leader, Iain Whyte.

The Scottish Government and UK ministers are deadlocked over how the 2 billion bridge should be financed. Westminster rejected the SNP's proposal to bring forward spending from Scotland's capital budgets for the next 20 years.

And the Scottish Government dismissed a series of Treasury suggestions of where money could be found by juggling existing finances.

The SNP says unless a new solution is found, the bridge will be paid for out of normal capital spending, even though it will pose a serious threat to other transport projects across the country.

Mr Johnstone told a fringe meeting at the Scottish Tory conference in Perth that tolls to help pay for the new bridge could not be ruled out.

He said: "There is a serious problem about how we will finance the bridge.

"If we had to decide between charging tolls or not building it at all, I would be prepared to argue for tolls.

"We have not reached that point yet, but I do believe we may need to address that argument."

He said he had not yet held talks with colleagues at Westminster about any possible help from a future UK Conservative government.

Scottish Tories supported the scrapping of tolls. But Councillor Whyte said charging for the new crossing could be a pragmatic way of funding it.

"Why could we not look at tolls because we are building a new bridge? In the current financial climate, we have to investigate all the options. If it's a choice between a bridge with tolls or no bridge, I would have the tolls."

He said it was up to Holyrood and Westminster to work out a "sensible" way of funding the new bridge over a number of years.

But he added: "If there is no way of doing that, then other options have to be looked at."

Many green campaigners oppose the new bridge, but Dr Richard Dixon, director of environment group WWF Scotland, welcomed the Tories' comments on tolls. He said:

"Tolls give you the signal this is not free, there are a whole lot of costs involved and you might think seriously about choosing another form of transport."