Frequently Asked Question (FAQ's)
On this page:
2 FAQ's about the reconstruction of the Bridge
3 FAQ's about Bridge Cards and Concessionary Tolls
We will add to these FAQ's as necessary. If your question is not covered by our FAQ's, or you would like further information, please contact us .
1.
The Company
1.1 Why is Whitchurch Bridge still a privately-owned Toll Bridge?
When the first Whitchurch
Bridge was built in the 18th century it was quite common for Bridges
and roads to be funded and built privately under private Acts of Parliament, with Tolls being charged for
using them. Most have passed into public ownership, and there are now just eleven ancient Bridges that
remain privately-owned and Tolled, of which the best known is
probably Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Whitchurch Bridge has been owned since 1792 by The Company of Proprietors of Whitchurch Bridge (commonly known as the Whitchurch Bridge Company), which has a duty under the Whitchurch Bridge Act 1792 and the Whitchurch Bridge Act 1988 to maintain the Bridge "forever in good and sufficient repair" and to replace it if it becomes unsafe.
1.2
Shouldn’t the Bridge be taken over by the Council?
Under current
legislation, the ownership
of Whitchurch Bridge could only change if a transfer arrangement were agreed
between the Whitchurch Bridge Company and a prospective purchaser - it
cannot be "taken over" without the agreement of the Whitchurch
Bridge
Company.
Neither Oxfordshire County Council nor South Oxfordshire District Council have expressed any interest in purchasing the Bridge from the Whitchurch Bridge Company. If either Council took ownership of the Bridge they would incur the liability for operating, maintaining and replacing the Bridge: this is a liability they have indicated they do not wish to take on. It should be noted that there are several examples where a local authority has taken over a Tolled Bridge but not removed the Tolls, as they face exactly the same issues and decisions concerning reconstruction and funding as does the Whitchurch Bridge Company currently.
The Bridge is not classed as a "highway", and Oxfordshire County Council has no powers under the Highways Act 1980 to take over the Bridge or remove the Tolls.
2. The Reconstruction of the Bridge (updated 22nd July 2010)
2.1
Who advises you on Bridge engineering matters?
We are advised
by Oxfordshire County Council Bridges department, who apply the same
standards to our Bridge as they would to any other Bridge in the county.
They arrange and supervise regular inspections of the Bridge by specialist
contractors to monitor its condition.
2.2
Why does the Bridge need to be reconstructed?
The present
iron Bridge was built in 1902 and not designed for modern traffic.
Our engineering advisers have told us that the works required to replace the piers, decking and paint system are so extensive that reconstruction is a more appropriate option, as it would enable the essential features of the Bridge to be preserved for another 120 years. Reconstruction would also eliminate the unacceptable safety risks to users that we are concerned about from possible impact on the structure from river or road traffic.
The Inspector at the Public Inquiry in June 2009 endorsed this approach in his Inspector's Report (para 6.21 & 6.22).
At the time of the Public Inquiry the Company planned to reconstruct the Bridge in 2013-2014. However, an inspection in May 2010 revealed that long-standing cracks in the pier capitals were increasing in length and may affect the structural integrity of the Bridge if no action were taken until 2013. On the recommendation of its engineering advisers at Oxfordshire County Council the Company decided to bring forward the reconstruction to 2011-2012. Our Press Release gives more details.
2.3 Could the life of the existing Bridge be extended
by reducing the weight limit to 3 tonnes?
A reduction
in the weight limit to 3 tonnes mgw would, in the Company's view,
unacceptably reduce the Bridge's utility to road users. In addition,
such a reduction would do nothing to address the structural and risk
management issues identified by Oxfordshire County Council relating to
the cracking of the pier caps, metal corrosion, the paint system, and
impacts from road and river traffic.
In particular, whereas access by vehicles over 7.5 tonnes from the south tends to be limited by the height clearance under the railway bridge in Pangbourne, there is no practical way that a structural weight limit of 3 tonnes mgw could be policed. The Company is not prepared to accept the risk of damage to the unreconstructed Bridge from overweight vehicles, and the unacceptable risk to users.
Our proposals will ensure the continued life of the Bridge for another 120 years with the elimination of the structural and risk management issues that have been identified. The Inspector at the Public Inquiry in June 2009 endorsed this approach in his Inspector's Report (para 6.21 & 6.22).
2.4
What are you planning to do? Will the Bridge look different?
We are planning
to reconstruct the Bridge in 2011-12 in such a way as to meet all the
engineering requirements but at the same time to preserve the appearance,
character and as far as possible the components of the existing Bridge in
line with its Grade 2 listing status. The existing lattice
side girders and piers (ie the vertical columns secured in the river bed) will be retained,
but their load bearing function will be transferred to new longitudinal
girders under the roadway which will be supported by new piers.
The width of the Bridge will not be increased, and the headroom and width of the four river channels will not be reduced.
Drawings of the existing and proposed new structure are shown here. The proposed design is subject to further detailed engineering analysis, site-specific issues and Planning requirements.
2.5
How much will all this work cost?
Our engineers
have already completed extensive design and evaluation work in order to
develop a detailed specification for the reconstruction, and have advised us
that the estimated cost is £3.50 million at June 2010 prices. In addition we
will have to allow for construction cost inflation,
but we are confident that the current estimates are prudent and supported by the best
available information and advice.
2.6
How will you pay for it all?
The Whitchurch Bridge Company has been building up funds for many years
in anticipation of the need for major reconstruction work. However because
the cost of reconstruction has significantly increased in recent years we still have less than half
of the funds required.
The only source of income that the Company has is from the Tolls charged on vehicles crossing the Bridge, and the Company's Business Plan identifies the Toll income required each year to fund the reconstruction. In 2008 it became clear that an increase in Toll revenue was required, and in October 2008 the Company submitted a Toll Application to the Secretary of State whose approval is required before an increase in the regulated Tolls can be implemented. The Secretary of State approved the Toll Application in October 2009.
We aim to meet a significant proportion of the reconstruction costs from the funds we have been accumulating and which we will be adding to from Toll income between now and when we close the Bridge in about October 2011. We will borrow the remaining amount, and repay it during the years following reconstruction. At this stage it is too early to make decisions about the nature and mix of funding for any shortfall in the reconstruction costs - for example by shareholder subscription and/or by bank borrowing.
The assumptions on the cost of funding and likely repayment requirements for the shortfall have been made on a prudent basis, as have the assumptions on the annual volume of crossings and the mix of Cash Tolls to discounted Bridge Card Tolls which together determine total Toll income.
2.7 How will pedestrians get across the river whilst the Bridge is closed for reconstruction?
The Company intends to provide a temporary footbridge just upstream of the Bridge, and downstream of the lock island. Discussions with land owners and detailed design work are still to be completed, but we are envisaging a step-free bridge supported on floating pontoons linked to the existing approach road pavements on either side of the Bridge. It will be suitable for use by pedestrians, buggies and prams, and pushed bicycles, and will be lit at night.
2.8 How will Pangbourne River Meadow be affected by the works?
We envisage that there will be a contractors' compound on the meadow. An indicative plan is shown on page 5 of this Briefing Document. The Company recognises that the presence of this compound and the access to it will have an impact on the local environment and the amenity value of the meadow, and will continue consultations with Pangbourne Parish Council and others to identify ways of minimising this impact.
In particular, a safe and accessible diversionary route for the Thames Path will be identified, as will alternative river access for the Adventure Dolphin Centre downstream of the contractors' compound.
The meadow will be re-instated to its original condition once the works are completed and the contractors' compound and access route have been removed.
2.9 How will you manage diversions for motorists and deal with car parking issues, particularly in Whitchurch High Street?
The Company can provide data on crossing volumes and journey profiles to the Highways departments of both Oxfordshire County Council and West Berkshire District Council. We expect that decisions on diversion routeing, diversion signage, and car parking provision/restrictions will be taken by those Highways authorities in consultation with local Parish Councils.
2.10 Will you be increasing the Tolls because the Bridge Reconstruction work has been brought forward from 2013 to 2011?
The Company has no plans to submit a Toll Application before the Bridge is reconstructed, and the Undertaking on Bridge Card Concessionary Tolls remains intact.
2.11 What repairs are you carrying out on the pier capitals in August and September 2010?
During August 2010 temporary access platforms were installed around the columns in the centre and Pangbourne-side piers. These are suspended from the Bridge side girders, and the supporting scaffolding unavoidably impinges slightly on to the roadway and pavement. Appropriate protection and warning signage is provided.
Technicians from Metalock Engineering UK are currently carrying out repairs to the cracked pier capitals using the Metalock cold repair process. The work is expected to last until mid-September. The Bridge will remain open throughout this period.
This work is being supervised by the Company's professional advisers at Oxfordshire County Council.
3. Bridge Cards and
Concessionary Tolls (updated 22nd July 2010)
3.1
What are Bridge Cards?
Bridge Cards are part of a computer-based system supplied by Parkare (formerly known as Alfia) which enables the Whitchurch Bridge Company to offer a concessionary Toll rate to regular Bridge users in an efficient manner. Bridge users who purchase a Bridge Card Pack get a proximity card known as a Bridge Card which is pre-loaded with cash credit for crossings at a discounted rate.
3.2 How can I obtain a Bridge Cards?
All Bridge users in Class 1 vehicles (ie vehicles under 3.5 tonnes mgw) can buy a Bridge Card Pack from the Toll Collector at the Toll Booth for £20.
3.3 Why do I have to pay a deposit for my Bridge Card?
Each Bridge Card cost the Company several pounds to purchase, and we need to offer an incentive to Bridge users to take good care of their Bridge Cards so that they are not mislaid and can be topped up and re-used time and time again. A recent analysis has indicated that as many as 1600 Bridge Cards - 20% of the total issued - have not been used for at least 6 months and are presumed lost.
Bridge Cards sold from Friday 9th March 2007 carried a deposit of £5, which was less than the cost price. The deposit increased to £10 for Bridge Cards numbered xxxx 8201 sold on and from Wednesday 9th June 2010.
Bridge Cards sold prior to Friday 9th March 2007 carried a deposit of £3 - this lower deposit reflected the the lower purchase cost of the initial batch of Bridge Cards, and the Company's policy of offering a significant subsidy on the true cost of Bridge Cards during the initial period of their introduction.
Please see FAQ 3.14 if you wish to return your Bridge Card and reclaim your deposit.
3.4 How do I use my Bridge Card?
You drive up to the Toll Booth window as now, and stop. You hold your Bridge Card close to the card reader under the window sill, to the right of the LED's. The card reader will bleep when it has read your Bridge Card, and the LED's change from red to green. The system checks your Bridge Card against its database, and if you have some credit left on your Account the barrier will rise automatically.
The system debits the cost of the crossing from your Account at the discounted rate applicable on the date of your crossing, and the display next to the Toll Booth window shows how many pre-paid crossings you have left. Even if you swipe your Bridge Card more than once, and you hear more than one bleep, the system will only debit one crossing from your Bridge Card Account.
When you have driven away the barrier will close automatically behind you.
3.5 What happens when I use up the the credit on my Bridge Card?
You can top up your Bridge Card with £10 with the Toll Collector at the Toll Booth when you have 40 crossings or fewer remaining.
When you arrive at the Booth you should swipe your Bridge Card in the normal way and hand £10 to the Toll Collector. He/she will use a touch screen computer to credit your Account with £10, and when the transaction has been completed the "number of uses remaining" on the display unit in front of you will increase by 50 crossings. Please check that your Bridge Card has been correctly topped up before driving away, as disputes cannot be easily resolved later.
You can only top up your Bridge Card if you have 40 crossings or less remaining, and you can only make a single £10 top-up at one time.
We have asked our suppliers to design and install a Receipt Printer system for top-ups. When this is installed - probably in September 2010 - we will provide a detailed receipt (including date, time etc) for all top-ups made.
3.6 Why do you ask that I register my Bridge Card?
We ask that you register your Bridge Card so that:
a) we can return the £3 or £5 deposit on the Bridge Card to the registered owner if the Card is returned to us
b) we can "stop" the Bridge Card if the registered owner reports to us that it has been lost (see FAQ 9).
We will also use postcode data to get a better understanding of the traffic flows over the Bridge, to help us plan. The data will be analysed and presented in a way that does not identify any individual Bridge Card registered owner or his/her Bridge Card usage.
The Whitchurch Bridge Company is registered under the Data Protection Act. We will not pass or disclose information on any registered user, or his/her Bridge Card usage, to any third party for marketing or any other purposes.
We will disclose Bridge Card usage information to the registered owner of that Bridge Card only, and not to any other person or organisation.
3.7 What happens if I don’t want to buy a Bridge Card?
You will be able to pay a cash Toll as now. We are not changing the system for paying cash Tolls.
3.8 Are Bridge Cards available for Class 2 vehicles (ie over 3.5 tonnes mgw)?
No. Concessionary Tolls for Class 2 vehicles are available only by purchasing books of pre-paid tickets.
3.9 What happens if I lose my Bridge Card?
a) Lost Card has been registered by you
If you had registered your lost Bridge Card, you should let us know as soon as possible either by email or in writing to the Bridge Manager at the Toll Booth, with your name and address and, if known, the Bridge Card number. We will then put a "stop" on your lost Bridge Card.
You will lose your deposit on the lost Bridge Card and you will need to purchase another Bridge Card Pack at £10. When you register your new Bridge Card, we will transfer the "uses left" from your lost Bridge Card to your new Bridge Card. To enable this transfer to take place, please put a note in with your new Bridge Card Registration Form telling us you've lost your previous Bridge Card, quoting its number if possible, and asking for the unused credit to be transferred to your new Card.
b) Lost Card has not been registered by you
If you had not registered your lost Bridge Card, you will need to purchase a new Bridge Card Pack in the normal way. You will lose the deposit on the lost Bridge Card and the value of the outstanding credit on it.
3.10 My Bridge Card has split because I used it as an ice scraper [screwdriver etc] - will you replace it free of charge?
We do not replace Bridge Cards which have been accidentally damaged by their owners. We will, however, transfer any unused credit to a newly-purchased Bridge Card provided that the new Bridge Card is registered.
To enable this transfer to take place, please enclose your damaged Bridge Card (the serial number of which must be legible) with your new Bridge Card Registration Form, together with a note asking for the unused credit to be transferred to your new Bridge Card.
3.11 Will the Bridge Card discounted Toll always be significantly less than the Cash Toll?
Although the Company is not obliged to offer discounts on its cash Toll, it is a strategic objective of the Company to do so, in order to encourage the use of Bridge Cards and thus reduce operating costs. On 1st March 2010 the Bridge Card Toll increased from 13.89p to 20p.
In accordance with an Undertaking given by the Company, the Bridge Card Toll will now be held at 20p until after 1st January 2013 and will not exceed 30p thereafter unless and until another Toll Application is approved.
3.12 Why was the Bridge Card Toll increased from 13.89p to 20p in one step? I thought it was going to be increased progressively over a number of years.
The Company's Business Plan for 2009 - 2010 was based on the assumption that the Company's Toll Application dated 31st October 2008 would have been accepted by the Secretary of State and implemented by 1st July 2009 (the start of the Company's financial year), and that an increase in the Bridge Card Toll to 15.63p would be implemented in February 2010. However, a large number of objections to the Toll Application were submitted and the Secretary of State ordered a Public Inquiry which was held in June 2009. This extended the time needed by the Secretary of State to determine the Application.
The findings of the Public Inquiry were reported to the Secretary of State in the Inspector's Report (this copy supplied to us excludes the Appendices). The Secretary of State subsequently issued a Decision Letter dated 12th October 2009 approving the increase in regulated Tolls sought by the Company and issued a Department of Transport Toll Order No. 2729 dated 12th October 2009.
The Company implemented the current Tolls on Monday 26th October 2009, some 4 months later than it had planned for. This delay in implementing the new Tolls cost the Company about £60,000 in lost revenue. In addition, the Public Inquiry itself cost the Company about £40,000, so the Company is seeing a shortfall of about £100,000 in the current year.
The Company needs to make up this shortfall, and has decided it has no option but to raise the Bridge Card Toll to 20p in 2010. This increase is completely within the undertakings and commitments made by the Company before, during and since the Public Inquiry in 2009, and will enable the Company to recoup about half of the £100,000 shortfall by the time the Bridge is closed for reconstruction in about October 2011.
Had there not been a large number of objections, a Public Inquiry may not have been necessary and the associated costs would not have been incurred. The Company would then have been able to raise the Bridge Card Toll in stages as originally planned, probably to 15.63p in 2010, 17.86p in 2011, and 20p in 2012.
3.13 Why have you introduced the Frequent User Scheme?
The Frequent User Scheme (FUS) was introduced to address concerns expressed during and since the 2009 Public Inquiry that some users could be paying £400 or more annually to use the Bridge. The Company does not accept these assertions, but is mindful of the effect on frequent users of the increase in the Bridge Card Toll to 20p on 1st March 2010. The FUS will ensure that no Bridge Card holder need pay more than £216 per annum to use the Bridge - equivalent to less than 60p or 3 crossings per day - with the added convenience of never having to top-up with cash at the Toll Booth.
3.14 I no longer cross Whitchurch Bridge on a regular basis and wish to return my Bridge Card. How do I get my deposit back?
We will return the deposit you paid if your Bridge Card is returned in good condition. Please download and complete a Bridge Card Return Form, and return it to us.
We are looking at incentives to reward Bridge Card holders who agree to retain their Bridge Card throughout the period when the Bridge is closed for reconstruction, as we wish to avoid the administrative workload involved in refunding and then reselling Bridge Cards to our regular users.
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