Press release: Severn tolls abolition spreading prosperity across south east Wales

Today’s news that Newport’s property market is the fastest moving in Britain has been welcomed by the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns.

The figures published by property portal Rightmove further evidences how the Welsh economy is going from strength to strength, significantly bolstered by the reduction of the Severn tolls and UK Government’s commitment to abolishing them at the end of this year.

A key poll taken at the first UK Government Severn Growth Summit in January revealed that 97% of delegates felt that the removal of the Severn tolls would be of benefit to Wales and companies on both sides of the border are already benefitting from the removal of VAT from the crossing tolls earlier in January.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

When I became Secretary of State for Wales I made it my number one priority to abolish the Severn tolls and send a direct message to industry, commuters and tourists in the UK and globally that Wales is open for business. This UK Government decision is about spreading prosperity across a natural economic region that has been severely hindered by the tolls for over half a century.

With tolls being abolished later this year, it is great to see the transformation of the joint economic and cultural prospects of South Wales and the South West of England already underway. It is just the start of a series of policies that will see the whole of South Wales benefit from an active intervention by the UK Government.

Scrapping the tolls will be the biggest economic stimulus in decades and will transform the economic and cultural prospects of the south Wales and south west England region, making it easier to do business, to increase inward investment and tourism and to create jobs.

Notes to editors

• The Severn Growth Summit was held in January at the Celtic Manor Resort where over 300 guests from both sides of the estuary joined the Secretary of State to discuss cross border growth opportunities following the abolition of the Severn tolls.
• The Secretary of State for Wales will mark two years in the post on Monday 19 March with the abolition of the tolls highlighted as a key achievement of his tenure.