Bridge Legislation

The following is a summary of the legal and political arrangements regarding the M48 Severn Bridge and the M4 Second Severn Crossing:

The Severn Toll

Having considered all the submissions, the Government decided on a private venture and four Consortia were eventually asked to submit bids. The John Laing / GTM· Entrepose bid was selected. Thereafter a Concession Agreement was entered into with the Govemment which set out in absolute detail everything the Company could and could not do. The Concession Agreement was embodied into an Act of Parliament which was carefully scrutinised on the floor of both Houses of Parliament and in Select Committee which heard representations from transport users etc. Some of the critics of the Company sat on the Select Committee or made representations to it, however many of the points made since were never raised then.

The "Severn bridges Act 1992" finally received Royal Assent on 13 February 1992 and on 6 March 1992 the Secretary of State signed the Order setting the starting date of the Concession as 26 April 1992. On that day Severn River Crossing plc took over both the Operation and Maintenance of the present Bridge and organising of the construction of the new Bridge. The finance arranged by the Company covers the costs of construction for the new Bridge and pays for the outstanding debt on the present Bridge. To meet its financial obligations, the Company has only one source of income namely that obtained from the Toll revenue.

Bridge Concession

The Concession period is set at a maximum of 30 years. The actual end date of the Concession will be achieved when the Company has collected a fixed sum of money from tolls valued in 1989 terms. Toll levels were set for three categories of vehicles by the promoters Laing-GTM at the time of tender. These toll levels set in 1989 terms, were written into the Concession and are now embodied in the Severn Bridges Act 1992. Toll levels are amended each year based upon the increase in the Retail Price Index since 1989.