The Severn Bridge Tolls Order 1989

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Severn Bridge Tolls Order 1989 and shall come into force on 3rd December 1989.

Revocation

2.  The Severn Bridge Tolls Order 1985(1) is hereby revoked.

Interpretation

3.—(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires–

“the Act” means the Severn Bridge Tolls Act 1965;

“Class I” and“Class II” means respectively the classes of traffic so numbered in Schedule 4 to the Highways Act 1980(2);

“goods vehicle”,“motor vehicle”,“trailer”,“unladen weight” and“wheel” have the meanings respectively given in regulation 3(2) of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986(3);

“motor cycle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle having less than four wheels and, in a case where a cabin is provided, the cabin is not constructed so as to enclose the driver and any passenger;

“The Severn Bridge road” means the new road as defined in section 1(4) of the Act;

“the specified carriageways” has the meaning given in section 1(3) of the Act;

“toll” means a toll leviable under the Act.

(2) For the purposes of this Order an articulated vehicle (that is to say a motor vehicle with a trailer attached thereto by partial superimposition in such a way as to cause a substantial part of the weight of the trailer to be borne by the motor vehicle) shall be treated as one motor vehicle.

Vehicles in Respect of which Tolls are to be Levied

4.  Subject to article 7 below, every motor vehicle of Class I or Class II using the specified carriageways shall be a vehicle in respect of which tolls are to be levied under the Act.

Amount of the Tolls

5.  The tolls to be levied for each occasion on which any vehicle in respect of which tolls are to be levied under the Act, whether travelling eastwards or westwards, uses the whole or any part of the specified carriageways shall be:

(i) £2.00 where the vehicle is a goods vehicle having an unladen weight exceeding 1.525 tonnes or is a passenger vehicle adapted to carry more than 16 passengers;

(ii) £1.00 in any other case.

Power to Compound in Advance for the Payment of Tolls

6.—(1) Any person may on application to and with the agreement of the Avon County Council as agents for the Secretary of State compound in advance with the said Council for the payment of tolls leviable under this Order.

(2) If the said Council make any such agreement they shall issue prepaid vouchers to any person so compounding in books each consisting of 50 vouchers.

(3) Payment of tolls under any composition agreement entered into under the preceding provisions of this article shall be made in advance at the following rates:

(i) £40.00 for a book of £1.00 vouchers;

(ii) £90.00 for a book of £2.00 vouchers.

(4) All other terms of any such composition agreement shall be the same for every person in like circumstances.

Vehicles Exempted from Payment of Tolls

7.  All vehicles of the descriptions specified in the Schedule to this Order (notwithstanding that they are vehicles such as are mentioned in article 4 above) shall be exempted from the payment of tolls.

Cecil Parkinson

Secretary of State for Transport

18th October 1989