Council anger over Dartford crossing 'freebie' » Local Government » 24dash.com

Hundreds of thousands of residents of Kent and Essex have been left out of a Dartford-Thurrock crossing freebie, Essex County Council has said.

Only Dartford and Thurrock residents have been given 50 free crossings per year while other residents in Kent and Essex receive no exemption.

A new charging system for the crossing introduced on Saturday meaning that all those without the partial exemption who use the crossing must pay £1.50 each time they cross.

The council argue that Kent and Essex paid for the original tunnel constructed in the 1960s out of local taxation and therefore residents should not still be paying tolls to use the crossing more than 40 years on.

It also argues that the crossing was originally planned to be cost neutral but has instead become profit making at £70 million per year.

Councillor Norman Hume said: "In these economically difficult times it seems particularly perverse to be actually increasing charges on the crossing by many times more than inflation and this will hit Essex and Kent residents the hardest.

"Successive governments have reneged on an original agreement that the crossing would be self-funding and not profit making and we feel it is time the motorist stopped being short-changed.

"Chronic congestion at these tolls costs Essex and Kent dearly in terms of economic disadvantage and pollution and this latest arbitrary decision from the government will leave millions of motorists suffering.

"I hope the government will start talking about long term solutions soon because our residents are getting tired of waiting."

Essex County Council has proposed that Kent and Essex residents should receive free crossings and that revenues from the charges should be ring-fenced for use on transport schemes and infrastructure in the two counties.