Three Parish Councils, two Members of Parliament, one District Council; all call for a public inquiry

(headline to tune of well known Christmas song)

Our two MPs for the bridge, one from each bank (and party),  are now pressing our case, directly to the Secretary of State in the MfT, for a full wide-ranging public inquiry.  Not just into the level of tolls - but into when and what the replacement will be and even who should own it - see John Howell MP and Martin Salter MP

Also South Oxfordshire District Council called for a full public inquiry into all the issues, with a unanimous vote on a motion proposed by Clr. Pearl Slatter - full story

Last, but by no means least, Whitchurch on Thames Parish Council joined Pangbourne and Goring Heath Parish Councils in calling for the inquiry - letter of objection

But don’t let all this stop YOU from sending YOUR own objection.  We need everybody to send one.  Tell the DfT what you think.  It DOES make a difference.

Please object NOW yourself (and help us distribute leaflets to encourage others)

Please write an objection to the toll increase NOW. Please don’t think that: “others are doing so, so I won’t bother”. The more objections the better case we can make. Every objection counts.

Here are template letters for your objection: objection templates

Just download, print, fill in a few details and post. We’ve left the “reason” blank for you to fill in. That way it is much more powerful. If you want some ideas for your objection, have a look on this website or read the leaflet (below).

If you really really want to help then please help us distribute our leaflet on the toll increase to as many people as possible. There is a copy below. Please print off some copies and distribute to people around you - stick on notice boards - anywhere people that use the bridge might see it. If you want to distribute more then you can easily print, get in touch and we will give you some copies.

The leaflet: tollfreeze-flyer

The posters and flyer can also be found here

Thank you for helping.

Statement by Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire have issued a statement on the bridge application.  Is this for or against?  Or does it just sit on the bridge?  Well the local election comes up in June 2009.  Rather good timing don’t you think?

Leafleting Drivers

We had a successful morning leafleting. Three of us managed to hand out almost 300 flyers to passing motorists in Whitchurch High Street between 8:00-9:15am this morning. Many thanks to Mike Scott and Melanie Hardwick for their hard work on a very cold morning. There was clearly overwhelming support for the campaign and quite a number of people said that they have already written and sent their objections.

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Contact Us and ask for publishing rights on this website or just simply send an email with the information to be published.

Toll Increase Application Document

Here is the document containing the full application made to the Department of Transport by the Whitchurch Bridge Company for increasing the tolls. It has much more information that they say in public, such as their plan for tolls right up to 2025.  Watch this space for our response.

Whitchurch Bridge Toll Application October 2008

Who are the “Bridge Company” shareholders?

Wondering who owns the toll bridge?  Well the list is public information.  Click on the link below for the official list from Companies House.  The document list all and the number of shares they each own.

Toll Bridge Shareholders 2008

Objections Address Published

The Bridge Co’s advertisement has duly appeared in the Henley Standard

It says that to object to the proposals the addresses to write to are (you must write to both):

Secretary of State for Transport
c/o Julian Smith,
Roads Strategy Division
Department for Transport, Zone 3/05
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR

AND

The Company of Proprietors of Whitchurch Bridge,
The Toll House,
Whitchurch Bridge,
Pangbourne,
Reading,
RG8 7DF

Closing date is 26th December (last posting day is 20th December).

Update: See this page for full details

Another 100% Proposed Increase in Tolls

The announcement below was released around 22nd October 2008 by the Whitchurch-on-Thames Parish Council.

If this goes ahead this will be the second 100% increase in cash tolls since 2005 - the toll will have quadrupled within 4 years!

WHITCHURCH TOLL BRIDGE APPLICATION TO INCREASE TOLLS

The Parish Councils of Whitchurch, Goring Heath, Woodcote and Pangbourne have been informed by the Whitchurch Bridge Company (WBC) that it is applying to the Department of Transport to increase the cash toll to 40p per crossing as from July 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

by Phil Lewis | November 14th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 4 Comments