The future of the controversial tolls on the Mersey Gateway bridge have been plunged into doubt following a tribunal ruling.

Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) published an adjudication decision on Friday that found that a motorist was not liable to pay a £2 charge because Halton Borough Council had not specified the sum of the charge in the Mersey Gateway Road User Charging Scheme Order 2017, and had not been specific about the price of the charge.

This decision has resulted in hundreds of Mersey Gateway bridge charge appeals being put on hold after the transport watchdog ruled they may not be legally binding.

The tribunal said that in its view this did not comply with the Transport Act 2000 and quashed two fines that ‘Miss’ C had received for crossing on November 20 and November 21.

A TPT spokeswoman added that based on the evidence provided, Halton Council had ‘failed’ to follow the commencement process contained in the charging order itself, reports our sister publication the Echo .

The toll charge for crossing the bridge is £2. Fines are £40, or £20 if paid early, rising to £60 if paid late.

Miss C challenged the fine because she had got lost and had to cross back over the bridge, meaning two round-trips across the bridge comprised three journeys rather than four.

But TPT went further than her argument, challenging the legal basis of her being charged at all.

The watchdog said Halton Borough Council had also failed to show it had published public notices in two publications - and had only done so in the London Gazette - when notices were required ‘in the London Gazette and in at least one newspaper circulating in the borough of Halton’.

The council has rejected the TPT’s findings and said it will ‘rigorously dispute’ the decision. It has applied for a third-party review to be held by an organisation independent of the TPT on May 8.

What happens now?

All outstanding appeals relating to the Mersey Gateway Bridge that are currently with the TPT Tribunal have been delayed pending the outcome of the review decision.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said it is ‘business as usual’ on the bridge.

TPT said that as of February 2018 approximately 242,690 penalty charges have been issued for failing to pay the toll.

To date more than 3,489 of these have been appealed to the TPT, of which 2,543 have not been contested by the council.

A further 449 appeals have been heard and allowed by the adjudicators resulting in 456 FPNs being quashed.

There are now 456 appeals on hold pending the outcome of the review on 8 May 2018.

Campaigners have described the decision as ‘unprecedented’.

The Road User Charging Scheme Order is currently undergoing public consultation and could potentially be updated to deal with some of the issues raised by the TPT.

The TPT has not stated what the implications of its latest adjudication are for tolls and fines already paid and said it cannot answer further questions due to the ongoing review.

The council response

Halton Council said its independent legal advisors have said the road user order is ‘legally sound’ and it has warned that drivers could still be fined for not paying the charge.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “It’s business as usual on Mersey Gateway and motorists should continue to pay tolls to cross Mersey Gateway.

“Those who fail to do so will still face the risk of a penalty notice.

“Since the new bridge opened to traffic in October, over 10m vehicles have crossed the bridge with drivers benefiting from its quicker, easier and more reliable journeys.

“Over this time, the council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board has received a number of comments and observations in respect of its operation, the tolling orders and the tolling regime.

“We’ve already made plans to update the Road User Charging Order to address these observations and to clarify matters surrounding the tolling regime that some, including TPT, feel are not clear.

“We are also proposing that even more users can benefit from the new crossing with unlimited trips and exemptions.

“A consultation to gather views about these proposed changes recently took place and the findings of the consultation will be published shortly.”

Campaigners say council has not won a single appeal

John McGoldrick, of the Scrap Mersey Tolls campaign group, has urged drivers not to pay the toll and for anyone who receives an FPN for crossing the Mersey Gateway bridge to ‘fight it’.

He said: “Last month following a Freedom Of Information request to the tribunal we learned that Merseyflow were issuing penalties at the rate of over 800,000 a year but that the council had not won a single case when people had appealed to the tribunal.

“We were puzzled why this was happening, but at the time were more puzzled why such a widespread burden of financial misery was not being reported.

“This latest news shows why the council had not won a single appeal decision and we wonder why it has taken so long for the public to be told about this.

“On October 10 last year we said that the council had used a dubious device to avoid giving the legally required three months notice and suggested that this was illegal.

“Despite that at midnight on Friday, October 13, they closed the Silver Jubilee Bridge and opened the new bridge with a firework display.

“It seemed that the council was relying on their lawyers to successfully fight anyone who dared to challenge whatever they did.

“It now seems that one woman dared to take them on and has, pending a review, won.”

He added: “Halton Council and the other enthusiasts for tolling the Mersey seem to have got themselves into a jam and will no doubt fight tooth and claw to reverse the tribunal decision.

“For now we are not suggesting that drivers do not pay the toll, but if they do receive a penalty charge notice, for any reason, then they should fight it.

“And everyone should sign the Scrap Mersey Tolls petition and press MPs and councillors on the issue.”