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<p>As the recent Westminster Hall debate made clear, tolling on the Mersey Gateway
Bridge is the responsibility of Halton Borough Council.</p><p> </p><p>The Council
has been clear from the time of early preparatory work for the bridge that it could
only be constructed with the support of toll revenue, and that this would require
also tolling the Silver Jubilee Bridge once renovated.</p><p> </p><p>The Government
has made a commitment by £288m to help fund this important piece of new infrastructure
over the coming years, on top of the £86m already provided to Halton to develop the
scheme and pay for land and contamination. The scheme is to that for the Dartford
Crossing, which also has free use (after paying a small fee every year) for those
in the immediate vicinity, but not for those outside it. The other major crossing
across the Mersey, the Mersey Tunnels, is tolled for everyone, including those who
live in the immediate vicinity.</p><p> </p><p>The further extension of free tolling
would incur substantial costs, much of which would fall on local councils, and would
incur a very high risk of successful legal challenge.</p>
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