Commenting on the announcement that the cost of crossing the Severn Crossings will reduce to £3, Liz Maher, president of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce said:
“This is good news for businesses in south Wales, particularly in the tourism sector.
“The constantly escalating cost of crossing the Severn Bridges is putting an artificial barrier between businesses in south Wales and their potential customers in the rest of the UK.
“Many of our members, such as hotels, sporting venues and attractions tell us that their own market research is saying that the cost of crossing the bridge is putting people off coming to south Wales.
“An example of how this reduction will help the economy here is the new International Convention Centre Wales at the Celtic Manor. They will find it easier to attract major UK conferences and attract events from the south west of England following the reduction in the tolls.
“While this is good news we must remember that people will still have to pay to cross the bridge. As the voice of SMEs across most of Wales, the South Wales Chamber of Commerce will continue to voice the concerns of our members and the business community to the government – and seek for the tolls to be fully removed and for trade between south Wales and the rest of the UK to be fully opened up.”