'Free at last': Tolls are dropped on the Cleddau Bridge after 44 years

The last vehicle to pay a fee to cross the Cleddau river drove through the toll booths at 2,30pm on Thursday, March 28.

The occasion was hailed as “historic” by Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Paul Miller.

Cllr David Simpson and Cllr Paul Miller at the Cleddau Bridge tolls. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

“This is undoubtedly a good day for our county,” said Cllr Miller.

“I have said many times that the bridge tolls have been an unwelcome barrier to trade across the haven waterway. Removing this impediment represents a really positive development for the people of Pembrokeshire.

“From now on individuals who need to cross the bridge everyday will save at least £6 a week on their crossings. That could easily add up to an extra £270 a year in local people’s pockets.

“On top of that, the revenue lost to the council will be replaced by a £3 million a year grant from the Welsh Government.”

The Welsh Government announced in 2017 that it would be scrapping tolls.

Cllr David Simpson welcomed the first free drivers over the bridge. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

Under the agreement with the county council, Welsh Government will pay the authority £3 million a year for the next 20 years to cover the loss in revenue plus a one-off payment to cover the removal of the toll booth infrastructure and staff redundancy costs.

Of the staff employed full-time at the bridge, four have been redeployed within the council; eight opted for redundancy rather than redeployment while the remainder have ongoing posts as bridge inspectors.

Cllr Miller paid tribute to the toll collection staff for their years of service.

“I would like to thank them for their patience through what has been a difficult and trying time and I wish them the very best for the future.”

What the staff think

Cleddau Bridge staff. L-R: Aser Bourne, Dennis Miles, Alfonso Cutolo, Pete Roberts, Tricia Davies, Julie Taylor, Ann Panton, Anthony Rees and Mike Webb. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

Julie Taylor, 58, of Milford Haven finished her final shift on Wednesday afternoon, and said it was an emotional occassion.

"Yesterday afternoon a bus of school children came across and I waved hello to them, but they had all drawn little goodbye signs for us.

"I just burst into tears because I didn't expect it," said Julie.

"The amount of people you get to know because you see them every day when they are going back and forward to work is unbelievable.

"Even though you might only say one or two words to them you get to now them quite well actually," added Julie.

She has accepted a redundancy and now plans to make a full-time business out of her livery stables.

Tricia Davies and Julie Taylor.

Julie's co-worker Tricia Davies, 60, of Pembroke Dock, was also sad to be leaving the bridge and was critical of the decision to abolish the toll.

"It is unneccessary and all political," she said.

"If you stopped any car and askd what they thing of the tolls they would say they don't mind paying."

Tricia added she would miss her colleagues and had come to think of them as a family.

Alfonso Cutolo, 61, has worked on the bridge since 1999 and finished on Monday, March 18.

He said he disagreed with ending the toll as he thought of it as a direct tax on bridge users, while the £3million a year grant from Welsh Government was a tax on everyone.

“I think I will miss my co-workers. I feel sad about leaving and I am not old enough to retire yet. I am going to look for a new job,” he said.

What's next for the bridge?

According to Darren Thomas, PCC’s Head of Highways, works will take place on the bridge to demolish the toll booths in the coming months.

During this time, traffic will be kept to a single lane going each way across the bridge.

A system to stop people from crossing the bridge during periods of high winds will replace the tools booths, and a design for this has been put forward to the county council.

The Welsh Government will pay the costs of the remodelling work once it is complete.

Signs were put up to let drivers know the tolls had been abolished. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

The news of the end to the tolls was welcomed by local businesses who cross the Haven waterway multiple times a day.

Local charity, The Paul Sartori Foundation, said: “Today is an exciting day for Paul Sartori Foundation. Today's closure of the Cleddau Bridge tolls means a lot to our charity.

The savings made on unnecessary expenditure will directly benefit our service users.

“We will be saving hundreds of pounds a year on bridge crossings for our nurses, HCAs, complementary therapists, equipment loan team, warehouse deliveries/collections and volunteers.”

The council has also made arrangements for bridge users with unused books of tickets to claim refunds.