| Friday, 11 November 2005 | |
|
MP demands more local cash from crossing Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate has renewed his call for more money from the Dartford River Crossing Tolls to be made available for local transport projects in Dartford. Commenting following the announcement this week by the Highways Agency indicating that the tolls will be retained for a further 30 years, Dr Stoate said: “I have always made it clear to Ministers that I am only prepared to support the retention of the tolls if Dartford benefits financially as a result. Up to now however we have only received a fraction of the overall income from the tolls despite all the congestion and pollution associated with the crossing which we have to deal with on a daily basis.” “Quite frankly I don’t think that a few million pounds for improvements to some of our rail stations represents a fair return for all the disruption generated by the crossing.” “If the Department for Transport isn’t prepared to give Dartford what it is entitled to, then I am not going to support the retention of the tolls for a further 30 years.” Dr Stoate has written to the Government today to press the case for a ring-fenced fund of at least 10% of the total annual toll revenue to be set up to fund local transport improvement projects in Kent Thameside. Notes The Highways Agency announced on 8 November that the contract for the collection of the tolls from the Dartford Crossing is to be included in a new 30 year contract for widening and managing sections of the M25. Since 2002, £1million has been set aside each year by the Department of Transport for local transport schemes in Kent Thameside such as the construction of the new interchange and rail station at Greenhithe. This figure represents only around 2% of the Department of Transport’s net income from the tolls however. The Dartford River Crossing was formally transferred back to the Department of Transport on 1 April 2002 after the full costs of construction of the QEII Bridge had been paid off. Using provisions contained within the Transport Act 2000 a new Dartford-Thurrock Crossing charging scheme came into force on 1 April 2003. The Transport Act requires that the net income generated by the charging scheme be spent on transport policies for a minimum of 10 years. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Related Items
- Stoate requests update on local crossing discount
- MP urges Dartford residents to back his 'Fair toll for Dartford' campaign
- Stoate presents toll campaign to Minister
- Government agrees to massive Dartford tolls discount for local residents!
- MP calls for better screening of A282 Tunnel Approach
- Minister announces further details on crossing discount
- MP demands bigger slice of toll revenue for Kent Thameside
- Transport Minister confirms 20p tolls for Dartford residents
- MP welcomes Transport Minister's statement confirming Dartford Crossing discount for local residents
- Stoate discusses the confirmation of the Dartford Crossing discount for Dartford residents
- Dartford Crossing discount scheme to commence from 16 November 2008
- Dartford Crossing discount comes into effect
The hosting costs of this website are funded from Parliamentary Allowances.
Joomla is free software provided under the GNU/GPL Licence.
Joomla is free software provided under the GNU/GPL Licence.