:00:07. > :00:13.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North for a special programme
:00:13. > :00:17.about the Humber Bridge. The headlines tonight... As tolls come
:00:17. > :00:21.down the Chancellor tells BBC Look North it will be a multi million
:00:21. > :00:27.pound boost to the local economy. This cut will boost the economy by
:00:27. > :00:30.about �250 million. As the changes are made, who will benefit most?
:00:30. > :00:33.We'll tell you what a survey for this programme suggests. Toll free
:00:33. > :00:39.for four years - the lessons from Scotland about what the future
:00:39. > :00:47.holds. The air those in Scotland who believes the Humber has much to
:00:47. > :00:52.learn from their experience. -- there are those. And we'll look at
:00:52. > :00:56.the controversial history of this much loved landmark. The sunniest
:00:56. > :01:06.march on record across parts of the region, but it is about to end.
:01:06. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:18.When the Humber Bridge opened it was supposed to bring together the
:01:18. > :01:21.North and South banks of the river. But for the last three decades the
:01:21. > :01:26.cost of crossing the bridge has been seen as a barrier to economic
:01:26. > :01:30.growth. Now after a long campaign, this weekend will see the bridge
:01:30. > :01:34.tolls finally come down, halved for cars and cuts for all. We're live
:01:34. > :01:43.tonight from a boat on the Humber to find out what that could mean
:01:43. > :01:48.for our economy. The Chancellor said exclusive interview said he
:01:48. > :01:53.believes the boost to businesses will be �250 million. We
:01:53. > :01:59.commissioned our own research which suggested an overwhelming 95% of
:01:59. > :02:03.people think this community will benefit from the cuts. 500 people
:02:03. > :02:09.were questioned. Most people said the main advantage would come from
:02:09. > :02:13.and for commuters. More from our political Editor... As dawn breaks
:02:13. > :02:20.over the Humber this has been the scene on countless mornings, with
:02:20. > :02:25.commuters meeting at this car park to try to save money on tolls.
:02:25. > :02:31.we meet every morning, share over the bridge which saves us about
:02:31. > :02:36.�400 a year. Over the Mersey tunnel, then in Wales, it seemed to be
:02:36. > :02:41.disproportionate here. Of the regular users questioned 55%
:02:41. > :02:46.suggest they will use the bridge more frequently when the tolls are
:02:46. > :02:52.reduced. In many ways, reducing the tolls is a gamble for the
:02:52. > :02:56.government. It will cost �115 million in taxpayers' money. The
:02:56. > :03:02.Chancellor believes the long-term impact on the regional economy will
:03:03. > :03:08.be huge. The evidence we have is that this cut will boost the local
:03:08. > :03:12.economy by around �250 million. So it is good for jobs, people looking
:03:12. > :03:17.for work, they will be able to find it on the other side of the river
:03:17. > :03:20.if they don't have in now. Kate uses the bridge most days to travel
:03:20. > :03:24.from her home in north Lincolnshire to the north bank where she works
:03:24. > :03:32.as a nail technician. It is a journey which costs and more than
:03:32. > :03:37.�100 a month in bridge tolls. book is �54. There are 20 tickets
:03:37. > :03:41.and a book. It will be so much better. I don't have to think I
:03:41. > :03:46.really have so many people in today, I will not break-even, then have to
:03:46. > :03:54.rearrange them. It will only be �3 a day instead of �6. Much better.
:03:54. > :03:57.Asked who will benefit the most 53% said commuters. Compared with 17%
:03:57. > :04:02.who believe the main beneficiaries will be those who use the bridge
:04:02. > :04:06.for leisure activities such as concerts and sport. 10% believe
:04:06. > :04:10.shoppers will benefit most. Recruitment consultants believe new
:04:10. > :04:15.job market will open up on both sides of the Humber. The reduction
:04:15. > :04:19.in the cost of the tolls will only appeal better to people looking for
:04:19. > :04:23.work and they will be prepared to travel further for that opportunity.
:04:23. > :04:30.Not everyone believes Lower Bridge tolls will bring widespread
:04:30. > :04:35.economic benefits. Jim runs a job club for the unemployed in north
:04:35. > :04:40.Lincolnshire. If you take the �15 a week reduction in paying the toll
:04:40. > :04:44.back and forward each day that is more than being eaten up by the
:04:44. > :04:48.rising cost in petrol and diesel. For people around the minimum wage
:04:48. > :04:52.they will not really see a significant advantage. We have had
:04:52. > :04:57.rising unemployment amongst young people, job losses, this will not
:04:57. > :05:03.be a panacea. A a thing sometimes East Yorkshire has been forgotten
:05:03. > :05:07.by government over the last couple of decades. I hope you will see a
:05:07. > :05:10.real commitment to East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire with the
:05:10. > :05:16.Humber Bridge tolls, many politicians promise to cut them
:05:16. > :05:20.before, we actually have. It seems the majority of people believe the
:05:20. > :05:30.lower cost of crossing the Humber will reflect positively on the
:05:30. > :05:32.
:05:32. > :05:36.economic outlook in this part of Well, with me now is businesman
:05:36. > :05:40.Malcolm Scott who had had his own plan to buy the Bridge and bring
:05:40. > :05:45.down tolls. Good evening. Are you disappointed you're not the man?
:05:45. > :05:50.The idea was to remove the debt, reduce the tolls and have a radical
:05:50. > :05:55.change in the government's structure of the bridge and all
:05:55. > :06:00.those matters have been dealt with. In a way, you started the debate,
:06:00. > :06:05.you pushed it. I hope so. I just took on board would have been done
:06:05. > :06:09.before and many people from different places have been fighting
:06:09. > :06:15.to remove the tolls totally and when that was not possible, to get
:06:15. > :06:19.the best settlement. How happy are you with the solution we have?
:06:19. > :06:25.concerned it is not sustainable as far as I can see it. There is a
:06:25. > :06:32.future risk of the debt not being dealt with that properly. But what
:06:32. > :06:37.a great weekend. You think we could go back to where we are again in
:06:37. > :06:40.the future? We have to be so grateful. If we have bought one
:06:41. > :06:44.year ago we would be standing here on this boat in front of the bridge
:06:44. > :06:49.talking about the tolls coming down, it is a great day. Let's enjoy it!
:06:49. > :06:54.George Osborne brings 250 million will be a boost to local businesses,
:06:54. > :06:58.what impact do you think it will have? That is consistent with the
:06:58. > :07:04.Buchanan study that said if they came down to �1 rather than one per
:07:04. > :07:08.and 50 there would be 300 million a over the period. The major
:07:08. > :07:12.beneficiaries are the individuals enjoying the social side of using
:07:12. > :07:16.the bridge. Economics comes off the back of that. If you're an employee
:07:16. > :07:22.now travelling across the bridge every day, it cost to roughly
:07:22. > :07:26.�2,000 in gross income, that his heart. And haulage companies?
:07:26. > :07:30.have come down for them by one third, which is encouraging but it
:07:30. > :07:35.is unlikely to have an immediate impact. We need security that they
:07:35. > :07:41.will not increase over time that gives businesses confidence to
:07:41. > :07:46.invest in the region. Good news. Good to see you on board. Thank you.
:07:46. > :07:49.Let's have a quick reminder now of why prices are coming down.
:07:49. > :07:53.Historically the tolls have been high because of the large debt owed
:07:53. > :07:56.by the bridge. The government has cut that debt by �150 million. That
:07:56. > :08:00.leaves �182 million underwritten by the four local authorities around
:08:00. > :08:07.the bridge. However, it's enough for a cut that will see cars pay
:08:07. > :08:17.half, down to �1.50 per trip. Even better news for bikers - motorbikes
:08:17. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:31.will now travel for free. And for the heaviest lorries it's a cut
:08:31. > :08:33.from �20.30 to �12. Well, in Scotland they went one step further
:08:33. > :08:36.and abolished all tolls for bridge crossings. It's been free since
:08:36. > :08:39.2008. Again the argument was that scrapping tolls would boost the
:08:39. > :08:47.economy. So four years on has it worked? Our Business Correspondent
:08:47. > :08:53.Paul Murphy has been to the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh to find out.
:08:53. > :08:58.It has a similarity to its Humber cousin, the bridge also divides two
:08:58. > :09:04.distinct communities, urban Edinburgh from rural Fife. And it
:09:04. > :09:08.has also fuelled decades of political debate. Businessman Alan
:09:08. > :09:14.Russell lobbied to get tolls scrapped here four years ago but
:09:14. > :09:20.now says even toll abolition has not created an economic miracle.
:09:20. > :09:24.think we are talking about a small cost which is almost a token
:09:25. > :09:30.contribution to the cost of running a bridge. Reduce that cost, or take
:09:30. > :09:37.it away, then people are happy with that but does it change their
:09:37. > :09:42.travel patterns? No. The comparison between the bridges will always be
:09:42. > :09:46.difficult to make in terms of the cost of the tolls. It was only ever
:09:46. > :09:51.�1 to cross here before the tolls were abolished completely but there
:09:51. > :09:57.are those here who believe the Humber has much to learn from their
:09:57. > :09:59.experience. Down the road at Edinburgh University I met a former
:09:59. > :10:06.Yorkshire man who believes the economic benefits of reducing the
:10:06. > :10:09.Humber Bridge toll are being greatly exaggerated. They will have
:10:10. > :10:13.a marginal impact on the economic good performance of the area. If
:10:13. > :10:17.you want to improve the economy of the area you have to look at the
:10:17. > :10:22.constraints on the performance of that area and they are unlikely to
:10:22. > :10:26.be bridged toll -- bridge tolls. It is likely to be structural changes,
:10:26. > :10:30.the educational attainment of the training of the workforce,
:10:30. > :10:33.workforce quality. But the experience here suggests people
:10:33. > :10:39.have become more mobile, particularly for shopping and
:10:39. > :10:45.leisure. On the banks of the 4th, Paul runs a seafood restaurant and
:10:45. > :10:50.has views about the cutting of the tolls. I think it will encourage
:10:50. > :10:54.people more to use the bridge and go further afield because it will
:10:54. > :11:00.not be more expensive which in terms of the economy and the other
:11:00. > :11:04.side of the bridge will have an impact. Four years on from the top
:11:04. > :11:09.gutsier they say there is little evidence of net economic benefit
:11:09. > :11:14.but spending within the existing economy is much more mobile and the
:11:14. > :11:24.opportunity which comes from that freedom of movement is what the
:11:24. > :11:27.
:11:27. > :11:30.Well, Paul Murphy is back from Scotland and he's at the Bridge now.
:11:31. > :11:36.So from what you saw in Edinburgh who are the winners when tolls go
:11:36. > :11:40.down? The obvious winners are the regular users. We worked out that
:11:40. > :11:45.if you move back and forth every day of the week you save around
:11:45. > :11:48.�500 a year as a motorist. Apart from that, there are discretionary
:11:48. > :11:52.users who might travel more to restaurants and theatres on either
:11:53. > :11:58.side of the Humber. Will it be used the regional economy? The
:11:58. > :12:02.Chancellor certainly thinks so. That said, he is spending 150
:12:02. > :12:09.million of taxpayers' money in reducing the tolls so it will be
:12:09. > :12:12.extraordinary if he said anything else. -- would be extraordinary. On
:12:12. > :12:17.Monday the local economic partnership is announcing
:12:17. > :12:23.enterprise zones on both sides of the Humber offering huge tax breaks
:12:23. > :12:26.to business. That is part of the big strategy here. The reduction is
:12:26. > :12:36.not the silver bullet but when combined with other things going on
:12:36. > :12:43.
:12:43. > :12:53.it is hoped they will collectively Contact us to let us know what you
:12:53. > :13:13.
:13:13. > :13:23.think. What difference will toll We look forward to hearing from you.
:13:23. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:29.Still to come: Take all the wire and a rapid end to end, that would
:13:29. > :13:34.go around the world price. Are agreed to things you never knew
:13:34. > :13:39.about the Humber Bridge. And we will have the weather later.
:13:39. > :13:49.We have a treat tonight. A long- range forecast for April, and there
:13:49. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:56.are big changes in store. Join me in a few minutes.
:13:56. > :13:59.Let us get back to the studio for the rest of the news.
:13:59. > :14:04.Anglian Water says the current drought affecting allah region is
:14:04. > :14:09.the worst they have ever seen. The comments come after a two dry
:14:09. > :14:13.winters which have left reservoirs at low levels. Last week fish had
:14:13. > :14:18.to be moved from one river because of worries that be dry up. A
:14:18. > :14:21.hosepipe ban is expected to come into effect on Thursday. Students
:14:21. > :14:26.had been protesting about the decision to end A-level teaching
:14:26. > :14:34.and some GCSEs at the Grimsby Institute. More than 70 pupils are
:14:34. > :14:38.affected. The institute insists the change is in line with government
:14:38. > :14:48.back games. Students mean they will have to move schools and the travel
:14:48. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:55.costs will increase. It is five pts 70 per day return. A lot of people
:14:55. > :15:02.come from places where there is no regular service bus. There is no
:15:02. > :15:09.college bus, so it costs me �12 per day. It would not be possible for
:15:09. > :15:12.me. 5,000 litres of engine oil has been dumped across three locations
:15:12. > :15:21.in Lincolnshire. Three separate incidents took place across three
:15:21. > :15:26.days. The oil was fined across -- near the A46.
:15:26. > :15:31.And meat supplier says it has had a 10 % rise in sales over the past
:15:31. > :15:35.year. The company supplies products to supermarkets across the country.
:15:35. > :15:39.Although sales are up, the company says its profits are lower because
:15:39. > :15:43.it has had to reduce prices. High street and Hull, North East
:15:43. > :15:46.Lincolnshire, and West Lindsey are to have government cash spent on
:15:47. > :15:51.them. The money is from the High Street Innovation Fund. It is aimed
:15:51. > :15:54.at improving their shopping experience.
:15:54. > :16:01.In sport Hull FC can top Super League tonight if results go their
:16:01. > :16:08.way. First they have to defeat Bradford Bulls. They also have to
:16:08. > :16:16.hope Warrington failed to beat St Helens.
:16:16. > :16:23.Both are doing all K. -- both are doing OK. Nothing is one in Easter.
:16:23. > :16:31.It is 1st September. It is not impossible to win the Super League
:16:31. > :16:36.from outside the top two. Now back to the River Humber.
:16:36. > :16:41.Thank you. We are on the Rebecca M. It is a
:16:41. > :16:46.fantastic evening. The sun is just going down. This is the skipper. He
:16:46. > :16:53.has been working hard for the last few hours. It has been quite an
:16:53. > :16:58.ordeal. Let us have a look at what has happened behind the scenes.
:16:58. > :17:06.Are floating studio arrived at lunchtime. All of the Ket had to be
:17:06. > :17:09.loaded by hand. It is safety first, then we set sail. Tides on the
:17:09. > :17:15.Humber admit that we needed an early start. It was then a pleasant
:17:15. > :17:20.journey up the river. By 3pm we were in position. We were ready to
:17:20. > :17:25.checkout the technical to make sure it all worked.
:17:25. > :17:31.Although hard work is down to the technical team.
:17:31. > :17:36.They have all done a fantastic job. Crossing the river has always been
:17:36. > :17:40.an issue for as long as people have lived here. It took more than one
:17:40. > :17:45.century of campaigning to actually get the bridge built. There was a
:17:45. > :17:51.lot of rambling along the way. It has had its critics. Our reporter
:17:51. > :17:55.looks back at the controversial history.
:17:55. > :18:00.It was an engineering marvel when it was built, but bridging the
:18:00. > :18:05.Humber has always been tangled up in money troubles and politics.
:18:05. > :18:10.Before the bridge at two choices. The road round by Goole took a long
:18:10. > :18:17.time. You could use the ferry, but people were fed up with that too.
:18:18. > :18:20.The best way to cross the Humber is to slum it! From Victorian times
:18:20. > :18:26.local businessmen and politicians push for something better, but the
:18:26. > :18:36.money was not there. Bridge schemes, tunnel schemes, came and went, but
:18:36. > :18:38.
:18:38. > :18:45.Hull was losing out. We were out on a limb. It was to
:18:45. > :18:51.improve our communications. Abridge would be good for the area. The
:18:51. > :19:00.Labour government could see it might be good report.
:19:00. > :19:03.# Will they ever bridge a Humber? In 1966 transport minister Barbara
:19:03. > :19:10.Castle announced Abridge would go ahead.
:19:10. > :19:15.Some suspected help Labour win the seat.
:19:15. > :19:25.In fact it took another five years before a Tory government agreed to
:19:25. > :19:26.
:19:26. > :19:32.Geological problems, industrial disputes, strong winds, and
:19:32. > :19:36.occasional accident all cause delays. 1970s inflation was soaring,
:19:36. > :19:45.so also was the cost of the bridge. Not everyone was convinced it was
:19:45. > :19:52.worth it. There is no advantage in using the bridge. This bridge goes
:19:52. > :20:00.from nowhere to nowhere. It cost him nearly �90 million. There was
:20:00. > :20:04.still pride when it opened, but also frustration. The job and the
:20:04. > :20:09.bridge was as much about politics as it was about ferrying people
:20:09. > :20:13.across the water. The debt was impossible. Everybody recognises,
:20:13. > :20:19.but nobody did anything about it. 30 years of wrangling has finally
:20:19. > :20:29.led to a new deal. Even with the tolls down as the bridge still have
:20:29. > :20:34.
:20:34. > :20:44.Joining me now is the leader of Hull City Council, Stephen Brady.
:20:44. > :20:44.
:20:44. > :20:48.Good evening. What do you think tonight? It is very choppy!
:20:48. > :20:58.Coalition Government manage to do something that you did not do.
:20:58. > :21:05.have made request of the years. The prices coming down. This is great.
:21:05. > :21:15.This is a good thing. It is right for the area. How will it benefit
:21:15. > :21:17.
:21:17. > :21:27.the region? If we cannot unite the leaders across the south and the
:21:27. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:39.North! I thought you said you would not bring in politics! There is a
:21:39. > :21:42.first for everything. Of course there is.
:21:42. > :21:48.We want businesses working together for the interests of the region. We
:21:48. > :21:54.will certainly go for it. Problems for this region could be on the
:21:54. > :22:04.bridge. A of course they do. There are great opportunities coming in
:22:04. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:21.that such as wind energy. The future for our region is bright.
:22:21. > :22:31.bet you used to come across on the boat! There has never been girls!
:22:31. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:41.One girl. My mother was evacuated here before the war. We have got
:22:41. > :22:51.relatives across Humberside. As a family we have got connections on
:22:51. > :23:01.the other side of the river. I have memories of when the Humber Bridge
:23:01. > :23:03.
:23:03. > :23:07.opened. I was a shop steward at BP at the time. The Queen came to open
:23:07. > :23:13.the bridge and saw the wonders of the chemical industry at the same
:23:13. > :23:17.time. Despite his problems, and all the political wranglings, the
:23:17. > :23:24.Humber Bridge is still a huge engineering achievement. It is an
:23:24. > :23:31.iconic landmark. Here are some of the things that
:23:31. > :23:37.make this bridge so great. What more do we need to know about
:23:37. > :23:41.this landmark? I had been passed with the job of telling you as many
:23:41. > :23:48.facts as they can in the time it takes to drive across the bridge.
:23:48. > :23:56.Let us start with the fact that since it opened 158,770,658
:23:56. > :23:59.vehicles have crossed the bridge. Plus one!
:24:00. > :24:04.If an early ideas had gone ahead, it might have been a tunnel. That
:24:04. > :24:09.was suggested as the best initial option. There was a short-lived
:24:09. > :24:16.hover grasped service in the 1960s. First hour.
:24:16. > :24:19.All of that wider end to end would go around the world price.
:24:19. > :24:24.The top two towers are up slightly further apart than the other two
:24:24. > :24:30.towers. The bridge used to be the longest single span suspension
:24:30. > :24:33.bridge in the world. It lost that honour in 1997. It is now the 5th
:24:34. > :24:41.longest. It does still hold the world record
:24:41. > :24:45.for the greatest number of scooters in procession. 860 crossed in 2010.
:24:45. > :24:54.The bridge has been immortalised in words. Philip Larkin wrote a poem
:24:54. > :24:59.about it. North and south meet union manifest.
:24:59. > :25:03.It also starred in the 1985 in Only Fools And Horses Christmas Special
:25:03. > :25:10.and has had the fool top gear treatment. It is British design,
:25:10. > :25:16.British Engineering. Just time to tell you that it takes two minutes
:25:16. > :25:22.and 20 seconds to cross the bridge from their Hull toll booth to
:25:22. > :25:27.Barton foreshore. It did for us anyway.
:25:27. > :25:32.Things that you never knew. The wind is increasing now. The sun is
:25:32. > :25:37.wind is increasing now. The sun is going down. Here is the weather: It
:25:37. > :25:41.is a beautiful evening. We are coming to their end of an
:25:42. > :25:46.exceptionally dry and sunny March. Climate patterns are now shifting.
:25:46. > :25:52.April is looking very different. Much more unsettled. At times it
:25:52. > :25:57.will be colder. There could be some decent rainfall for the first time
:25:57. > :26:07.in a long time. Let us hope that happens because there are problems
:26:07. > :26:09.
:26:09. > :26:17.across our region. April is looking very different indeed.
:26:17. > :26:27.He's the sunshine on the foreshore. -- he's the sunshine.
:26:27. > :26:34.
:26:34. > :26:39.Cloud will increase from the north- A damp and grey end to the night.
:26:39. > :26:43.Saturday morning will be damp and overcast. The drizzle will die out
:26:43. > :26:51.through the first have of the morning. From the north east there
:26:51. > :27:01.should be a clearance coming in. A bright afternoon. Temperatures will
:27:01. > :27:05.
:27:05. > :27:09.But is at 12 degrees Celsius drop. -- that is a 12 degrees Celsius
:27:09. > :27:18.drop. Monday looks drive. Rainfall on
:27:18. > :27:23.Tuesday. As it clears it could turn wintery. That is the forecast.
:27:23. > :27:28.A reminder of our main stories. The Chancellor has told us that the
:27:28. > :27:34.reduction on the tolls on the Humber Bridge will be worth �250