dartford bridge

Dear Mark,

Income from Charges

We at Le Crossing act as Managing Agents to the Highways Agency (HA) who
are an executive body of the Department for Transport (DfT). All revenue
collected at the Crossing is paid to the DfT who, through the HA provides
funding to Le Crossing for the operation, maintenance and improvements.

The Transport Act 2000 requires that the net income generated by
the Charging Scheme must be spent by the DfT on transport policies for a
minimum of ten years.

Recent annual accounts can be accessed at the following link

[1]http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/documen...

I trust that this information is of use.

Kind Regards,

Jackie

Jackie Wood

Assistant Customer Services Manager

Telephone: 01322 221603 Ext. 168

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Dear Mark-William:Baker

Thank you for your email of 10 August 2009 concerning the total amount of
monies collected since opening of the Dartford Crossing in 1988. The
information you have requested is information we make available to the
public on a regular basis. We are handling your request under normal
business processes, which means we are not handling your request in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

This means you will receive a response from the Highways Agency within 15
working days, containing the information you require. If you feel the
information supplied is not sufficient or has not been answered within the
15-day period, you may wish to complain. The complaints procedure is
available via our website at

[1]http://www.highways.gov.uk/aboutus/141.a...

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me, quoting the
reference above.

Ann McShane, Dartford/A249 Team
Highways Agency | Federated House | London Road | Dorking | RH4 1SZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 878231 | Fax: + 44 (0) 1306 878488
Web: [2]http://www.highways.gov.uk
GTN: 3904 8231

Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers
Highways Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport.

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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References

Visible links
1. http://www.highways.gov.uk/aboutus/141.a...
2. http://www.highways.gov.uk/

Dear Mr Mark-William:Baker

I refer to your enquiry dated 10 August regarding the charges collected at the Dartford Crossing and provide the following information.

From 31 July 1988 until 31 March 2003 the Crossing was managed by the Dartford River Crossing Co Ltd. The QEII Bridge was not actually opened to traffic until 1991, the construction of this bridge started in 1988.

For the period from 31 July 1988 to 31 March 2002 Dartford River Crossing Co. Ltd. were required to produce annual accounts and these may be requested from Companies House.

They can be contacted at:
Web: http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
Telephone: Companies House Contact Centre - 0303 1234 500
E-mail: [email address]
Address: Companies House
Main Office
Crown Way
Maindy
CARDIFF
CF14 3UZ

This was an early Private Finance Initiative (PFI) concession, enacted by the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988, which transferred the existing debt from the tunnels to the private sector who would retain toll revenue to pay off the existing debt and the debt incurred by building the new bridge. Tolls were set by the Department of Transport (and its forerunners) in conjunction with the Concessionaire. The concession was for a period of 20 years from 31 July 1988, but could be ended as soon as the debt was repaid. The Secretary of State determined that all financial commitments had been met by 31 March 2002.

However, the Dartford-Thurrock Act 1988, Schedule 6, Section 16, (4) (1) contained the provision for a Toll Extension Period for the collection of tolls to provide a fund for future maintenance of the crossing. An Extension Agreement between the Concessionaire and the Secretary of State was in place from 4 March 1999 and allowed the Toll Extension Period to run from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. All Toll Revenue during this period was passed over gross to the Department for Transport.

For the period of the Extension Agreement - between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003, the Highways Agency records show the sum of £68,363,698.02 received into their bank.

The current charging scheme at the Dartford Crossing came into force on 1 April 2003 under the powers of the Transport Act 2000. Since that date an annual account has been completed and these for the periods between 2003/2004 to 2007/2008 can be found on the Highways Agency website below, under "Reports"

Web: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/project...

Copies of the accounts can also be obtained from TSO. (The Stationery Office) who can be contacted at;
Web: www.tsoshop.co.uk
Address: TSO
PO Box 29
Norwich
NR3 1GN
Telephone: Telephone Orders/General Enquiries 0870 600 5522

The account for 2008/2009 is currently being prepared and should be available on our website in early 2010.

For your information there has been a charge in place to use the Dartford Crossing since 1963, when the first tunnel was opened.

From that time until the 30th July 1988, it was the responsibility of the Essex and Kent County Council Joint Consultation Committee. We do not have audited accounts of this period, but you may wish to approach either of these councils directly to obtain data on toll revenues for this period. Their contact addresses are;

Address: Essex County Council Kent County Council
County Hall County
Market Road Maidstone
Chelmsford Kent
CM1 1QH ME14 1XQ
Telephone: 0845 743 0430 Telephone: 08458 247 247
Web: essexcc.gov.uk Web: kent.gov.uk

I hope this is helpful.

Yours faithfully

Kevin Smith, Business Manager
Highways Agency | Federated House | London Road | Dorking | RH4 1SZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1306 878181 | Fax: +44 (0) 1306 878494
Web: http://www.highways.gov.uk
GTN: 3904 8181

Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers
Highways Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport.

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