The owners of Aldwark Toll Bridge, between Boroughbridge and Easingwold, has applied to increase the toll over the bridge, phasing them in over ten years.
The proposal will see the current 40p charge for cars and £1 charge for larger vehicles, which has been the toll since the last increase in 2005, would increase to £1 for cars and £2 for larger vehicles.
After ten years, the toll would be £1.40 and £2.60 respectively.
Motorbike crossings would remain free.
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The move follows the bridge re-opening in February this year after £700,000 was spent refurbishing and renovating it.
However, its owners the Westwick Group say the proposed toll increases are “not in any way to recoup any of the monies spent on either the purchase or refurbishment of the bridge, but only to provide for a reasonable return on the investment, to meet running costs and to accrue for future works.”
This follows suggestions on social media the Westwick Group, who bought the bridge in August 2020, may not have carried out sufficient due diligence before their purchase.
The company has posted online: “We have submitted a plan which asks for inflationary increases over the next ten years, which are based on previous long term inflationary rates. The plan, together with the completed refurbishment, provides a guaranteed future both financially and physically for the bridge.
“The tolls have not been increased for 15 years, and as such any previous increase in tolls would not have been able to meet the current cost of refurbishment.”
In 2022, the Westwick Group sought to double the toll from 40p to 80p, which Nick Oswald, head of the nearby Great Ouseburn Primary School, said would cost parents living on the other side of the crossing £600 a year to bring their children to school.
The Department for Transport rejected the proposed increase, saying the company couldn’t justify them.
Now, the Westwick Group has submitted reports to the Department for Transport, arguing the need for the phased price increases.
They say the increases are needed for the bridge “to operate on a commercially viable basis” and fund the “on-going maintenance works required to keep the bridge in good working order.”
The company says traffic levels have averaged around 1100 a day, with more than 1,300 recorded on one day in April.
However, expected traffic increases from a proposed asylum centre at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, plans now abandoned, and developments at Aldwark Manor Hotel have had “no appreciable impact.” No major new developments in the area are proposed and monthly income is similar to that of 2022.
The refurbishment had cost “in excess of £700,000” and the total capital employed was over £2 million.
At the current toll fee, this meant the bridge was making losses, with a return of -2.93%, and “not commercially viable.” The proposed toll increases would boost this return to 7.65%.
The application to the government concluded the bridge company has a “moral duty” to keep the bridge open but also to “not let the company become insolvent.”
People have until this Thursday, August 29 to comment on or object to the proposed increases. They are asked to give notice quoting the reference ‘Aldwark Bridge Toll Application’ via email to nationalcasework@dft.gov.uk or by post to The National Transport Casework Team, Department of Transport, Tyneside House, Skinnerburn Road, Newcastle Business Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 7AR accompanied by the grounds of their objection.
A copy of the objection should also be sent to Amy@westwickgroup.com or in writing to Aldwark Toll Bridge LLP c/o Victoria Mill Stables, Buxton Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1DA, the Westwick Group added.
