Whoever it is that organised this movement to stop the increase - well done!
I have already registered my objections using your website.
Its about time the community banded together to stop such an unfair ‘fait accompli’

Dear sirs,

I an just one of no doubt many who is upset at the proposed rise in toll charges.
I am a lifelong resident of the village as are my parents who themselves are very angry at the proposed rise and object fervently.

Regards
Graham Streak
Pauline and Maurice Streak

Just to make sure: Ensure you write to the above two postal addresses when making your objection

I run a small business where five of my employees use the bridge twice a day five days a week.
Currently this costs circa £500 PA - If the new charges are applied this by definition will double these costs.

Quite apart from these increases I am at a loss to understand, in the current climate, how a 100% increase can by justified, furthermore in having to pay a road tax to both access and exit the bridge I feel in the 21st century a bridge toll charge is unacceptable.

The time must be due where the Highways agency take ownership of the bridge and include access as part of the national highways infrastructure and thereafter abolish toll charges altogether.

I suggest that everyone also write to the local MP (for Henley-on-Thames) and to your local County Councilor to ensure that they take the matter up on behalf of residents.

It high time the bridge was adopted by the Highways Agency, thus ending toll cahrges. altogether.

As an ex-resident of the village and one who uses the bridsge twice a day, the proposed increase is quite unreasonable in the current economic situation.

The best option is for the weight restriction to be imposed so the the bridge can continue for another 30 years in its current state. The bonus will be reduced commercial traffic through the village

Thanks Philip,

By all means write to the local MP - I’m sure he likes to hear your views. We met him and he has offered to help. You could write and thank him.

Oxfordshire CC could do with a lot more letters. Ian Hudspeth (Cabinet Member for Transport) would be a good one to write to - as well as John Farrow (our local county councillor). Ask them why they are taking over half the toll income in “fees” from the bridge. Ask them why, on top of that, they just push us to pay more tolls to pay for bigger and bigger bridges. Ask them how many other bridges Oxfordshire looks after and why is this one different. Why is this end of the county so poorly served and yet are subsidising the rest of the county?

I think it’s totally out of order to increase the Whitchurch Bridge toll to 40p. I would not object so much if I actually saw that the money we already pay went towards the upkeep of the bridge but I have not seen any evidence of this for many years. When was the last time that the bridge was repainted??!!

I think it’s very important that we all take a stand on this and register our complaints.

I think the current charge is already far too much, let alone this increase, WAY above the rate of inflation. I visit my brother in the village so do not want this outrageous rise to go through.
IT MUST BE STOPPED!!

As a regular user, sometimes 4 times a day, I think it’s totally out of order to increase the Whitchurch Bridge toll to 40p. I also agree to the fact that I would not object so much if I actually saw that the money we already pay went towards the upkeep of the bridge but again I have not seen any evidence of this for many years.

outrageous. the toll bridge collect £6000 a day; with this increase it will be doubled which equates to £4380000 per year. in the current economic crisis at the moment there is no justification what so ever for this ridiculas rise!

I use the bridge at least twice a day and feel outraged at the toll increase proposal.

Our community spirit will be sorely tested here and our hard working local businesses and wonderful retailers in Pangbourne will be the ones who sufferer further.

When is common sense going to kick in, and when are the people that live locally and use the bridge going to come first?

@Phil,
I think it is around 5300 vehicles per day at present which equates to about £266k per year. After the increase they propose that this will rise to or £500k per year before rebuilding in 2013. An effective doubling whichever way you look at it… There is also AFAIK no proposal to reduce the toll in the 10+ years following the rebuilding.

As a daily user I object to the application from the Company of Proprietors of Whitchurch Bridge to raise the tolls on Whitchurch Bridge. I have been a local resident for some 25 years; during that time, I have seen the charges on Whitchurch Bridge increase in what I consider to be an excessive way.

Matilda Oppenheimer, chairman of Whitchurch Parish Council, has said: “An increase in the cash toll will represent a four-fold increase over four years, from 10p to 40p. That is plainly unacceptable”. I completely agree.

Whilst, due to inflation, I would expect to see an increase in charges, I am constantly surprised at the rate of charges we have to pay to cross Whitchurch Bridge.

Appendix 5 of their Application of 31 October 2008 gives a comparison of other bridge charges. In my opinion this is misleading and does not take account of the sizes of other bridges, a reflection on the associated running costs. Interestingly, they leave out the nearest other toll bridge on the River Thames at Eynsham, probably the best one to compare with Whitchurch. The current charge at Enysham is 5p per car; whilst Whitchurch are currently charging 20p and hoping to go to 40p.

There are a large number of shareholders of Whitchurch Bridge, several of whom are directors. The company has £1.4 million set aside for the reconstruction, just £300,000 more than in 2005, when the tolls increased from 10p to 20p.

In the Application of 31 October 2008 they have voted to increase dividends to shareholders from £42,300.00 in 2007 to £49,350.00 in 2008. [These dividend payments represent some 246,000 crossings at 20p, a considerable proportion of the 1.8m annual crossings mentioned in ‘Appendix 3 Vehicle Crossings Data’!].

Why issue dividends, especially given the requirement to invest in the future of the business [by building a new bridge]. The directors know they are required by the original Act of Parliament to provide a river crossing. It appears that they expect the users of the bridge to pay for their future investment, rather than this coming about through prudence and efficient running of their business.

Due to economic pressures shareholders in many other businesses are receiving no dividends at all - surely the profits of the Whitchurch Bridge Company should be invested in a new bridge, not in additional shareholder dividends? If the shareholders do not like the opportunities for profit presented by the company, then why hold shares? One certainly would not do so in the stock market.

They also mention that they reduced the weight limit on the bridge and imply that this has had an adverse impact on their revenue. For people not familiar with the area there is little access for large articulated vehicles etc. This is due to a narrow railway bridge in Pangbourne and a narrow restricted road width for large vehicles as they come down into Whitchurch-on-Thames. Heavy goods vehicles [over 7.5 tonnes] do not use this route anyway.

The impact of this proposed increase will greatly affect residents. Many are retired or nearing retirement and therefore living on limited incomes. They cannot afford to see almost bi-annual increases in what is an important local lifeline to their shops and facilities.

They think it most unreasonable, especially given the fact that you can drive 25 miles upstream and cross the River Thames on a similar sized bridge at Eynsham for 5p.

I hope you find my comments useful in your assessment.

Yours sincerely

John Gray

John Gray was right to compare the proposed toll sought for Whitchurch Bridge with the existing 5p toll charged by the Swinford Bridge (at Eynsham), but he omitted to remind us that almost 700 users of that bridge have signed a petition to their MP (David Cameron) calling for total abolition of any toll on that bridge, thus bringing it in line with very nearly every other bridge in the UK public road system (there are already no toll bridges in Scotland).

Gatehampton Manor,
Goring on Thames

24 December 2008

Dear Sir,

I object to the application from the Company of Proprietors of Whitchurch Bridge to raise the tolls on Whitchurch Bridge. The reasons are:-

1. The increase is far too much and should be phased in gradually.
2. There should be a public consultation on the subject.
3. There will be an increase of traffic through Goring & Streatley, which is already over crowded.

Yours faithfully,

J.E.Farr

@John Farr,
Any objections posted here will not be seen by the government. I hope you also sent this to the postal addresses above. It’s now too late to send by post (which is the only officially blessed method) but I reckon you should send your document by email to the following address: Julian.Smith@dft.gsi.gov.uk

angry pen… blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh…..blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh; blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh.

stupid toll people shouldn’t raise the price. 40p, just to cross a bridge?
can I charge you 50p to walk past my house?
I know someone that will now have to cross that bridge twice a day, now the company she worked for has gone bust and moved. 40p? fourty pence? It’s a bridge. ‘I object, your honour’
‘over-ruled’.

idiots.
gggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.