No plans for any congestion charges in RCT, says council leader

There are no plans for a congestion charge in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) but the council leader thinks the money raised from any charge that may be introduced in Cardiff should be redistributed to councils for public transport improvements. Responding to a question from Conservative group leader Councillor Sam Trask at full council on Wednesday, April 24, Labour council leader Councillor Andrew Morgan said: “This council certainly has no plans for car charging.”

He said his views are public and on the record in terms of charges in Cardiff. Cllr Morgan said: “If there was to be a nominal charge in Cardiff the only way I could possibly sign up to anything like that would be to see that that funding is redistributed to local authorities like RCT to provide better connectivity, buses, more Metro etc.”

He mentioned a previous line from an MS (Member of the Senedd) which was that the Valleys are not going to be used as a cash cow or be taxed to help things in Cardiff. He said if there is ever a scheme brought forward they want to see it be fair and equitable across the board and that the money is ring-fenced to make sure that if they don’t want people to use a car there must be a viable alternative and until that’s in place he certainly would not support something along those lines.

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Cllr Morgan added that there may be some sort of road user charge at some point in the future if diesel engines end up being scrapped then revenue from petrol and diesel is going to disappear so there would have to be a way of generating income. But he said this would need to be part of a national conversation across the UK to decide how they fund infrastructure and roads when diesel and petrol engines are put to bed. To get all the latest Pontypridd news straight to your inbox sign up to our newsletter here.

Cllr Trask, in asking his question during the state of the county borough debate, said the UK Government had frozen fuel duty since 2011 and then cut it by 5p a litre but wherever Labour are in charge “they seem to be finding ever-more creative ways to punish motorists”. He then invited the leader to give some reassurance to the residents of RCT that there are no plans now or ever to bring in congestion charging, clean air zones, or any other kind of road use fees to any part of Rhondda Cynon Taf.