Easter egg appeal off to a cracking start thanks to Merseyflow and Merseylink
Merseyflow’s annual Easter egg appeal which is hoping to give an Easter treat to disadvantaged children in Halton has been kick-started with a donation of £1,000 worth of Easter eggs thanks to Merseyflow and Merseylink.
The Easter egg appeal has launched for 2026, and is open for donations from customers, staff, and members of the public to add to what will become a growing Easter egg pile at Merseyflow’s Walk-In Centre at Manor Park in Runcorn.
The Walk-In Centre will be accepting Easter egg donations from Wednesday 4 February until Monday 16 March at Howard Court, Manor Park, Runcorn, WA7 1SJ. It is open Mon – Fri 9am-7pm and Saturday, Sunday, and Bank holidays 9am-6pm.
The treats are being given to Halton Family Hubs in Runcorn and Widnes and will benefit hundreds of disadvantaged children from some of Halton’s most deprived areas.
Denise Caldwell, Early Help Officer with Halton Family Hubs said: “The response from the community in Halton to this kind of appeal is always fantastic and we’d like to thank Merseyflow and Merseylink for their generous contribution.”
Liam Geoghegan, General Manager for Merseylink, said: “We’re very pleased that we’re able to support the annual Easter egg appeal for another year, and would love to see more people getting involved to help support Halton Children’s Centres to continue its important work in the community.”
Helen Williams, Marketing Manager at Merseyflow, said: “We’d like to thank Merseylink and all of our staff and customers who have donated to the appeal so far. Supporting the local community in Halton is really important to us and we’re glad we could help kick-start the appeal again.
Halton communities can benefit in 2026 through Time Bank community initiative
Community organisations in Halton are being encouraged to sign up for the charitable Time Bank scheme led by Merseylink and Merseyflow for expert help during 2026.
The Time Bank initiative aims to assist key organisations, including schools, colleges, charities, and community groups, by allowing Halton communities to benefit from the skills and expertise of the Merseylink and Merseyflow teams.
This innovative local support scheme, developed as part of the Mersey Gateway Project, has run since 2015 and returns for another year following a highly successful 2025.
Last year’s scheme provided support to Halton Haven Hospice to improve its Memory Garden, which involved weeding, cleaning, and a fresh coat of paint for the hospice’s surrounding areas. The scheme also provided various landscaping maintenance support to Hallwood Primary School, St Gerard’s Primary School and Ormiston Bolingbrook Academy.
Community groups, charities, and voluntary organisations interested in applying for support from the Time Bank are requested to email info@merseylink.com for an application form.
A minimum of 30 days per year are committed through the Time Bank scheme, and assistance can include anything from regeneration activities, career advice, technical advice, general maintenance, painting, and litter picking, as well as any other suitable suggestions applicants can provide.
Karen Atherton, Merseylink Liaison Officer and Time Bank Lead said: “We’ve had an amazing response to our Time Bank initiative in the past, with incredible projects that truly benefit local charities and the Halton community. Our team is ready for 2026 and excited to explore new opportunities. We urge any organisation needing support to apply early and reach out to see how we can help.”
Jade Koo, Head of HR at Merseyflow, said: “We’re proud to support the work of amazing local charities through the Time Bank initiative. Getting involved in community challenges brings our team together and provides the opportunity to engage with other volunteers and local charities. We’re excited to see what new projects we will be giving time to in 2026.”
This years’ Time Bank is currently open for applications until Tuesday 31 March 2026. For more information, email info@merseylink.com.
Mersey Gateway Project annual financial report published
The latest annual financial report into Mersey Gateway Project income and expenditure has been published by the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board.
The report details income and expenditure data in relation to the Mersey Gateway Project for the last five financial years up to the end of March 2025. It is the last twelve months’ worth of data which is newly published.
It shows that:
- Annual revenue grew by just over 4% to circa £50m compared to the previous financial year
- Annual costs grew by less than 3% to a little short of £65m for the same time period
As a result, the annual deficit reduced by £0.3m from £14.9m in 2023-24 to £14.6m in 2024-25. This annual deficit is covered by a grant from the Department for Transport. If the DfT did not provide this annual funding, then toll charges would have to be increased every year to cover this deficit.
The DfT grant is paid in advance, with 85% of any unused grant being returned to the DfT once the final figures are known. This unused element of the grant funding cannot be used to offset toll charges as it belongs to the DfT. Full details of the annual grants and unused funds returned to the DfT are included in the attached income and expenditure report.
The remaining 15% of the unused annual grant from the DfT, which in 2024-25 amounted to just under £1.2m, is retained by Halton Borough Council and ring-fenced for spending on sustainable transport issues.
This money is being / has been used by Halton Borough Council to fund to certain types of activities including maintaining the Silver Jubilee Bridge, payments into a reserve fund in respect of the Silver Jubilee Bridge and sustainable transport, as restricted by the legislation.
Project funding is a mix of toll charges and central government grants
The majority of funding for the Mersey Gateway Project has and will continue to come from toll charges paid by people who use the bridges. The remainder comes from the Department for Transport (DfT), which provides tens of millions of pounds of funding for the project every year. Without this subsidy from Government, the project would make a significant annual loss.
The increase in toll charges earlier this year was the first in seven and a half years since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened. Toll charges have increased by significantly less than the cumulative RPI inflation rate since the bridge opened – which has already reached 40%.
In order to fund the project over its lifetime, it was always expected that toll charges would need to increase annually in line with inflation, but Halton Borough Council has been able to defer annual increases to minimise costs to motorists.
The next projected toll charge increase is scheduled for April 2028, by which time toll charges would have increased just once in the first ten and a half years of the project operation. Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said “We’ve committed to publishing this income and expenditure data annually, and we will continue to do so every year. What we can see here is a small rise in both project revenue and operating costs which is in line with expectations and shows the need for quicker, easier more reliable crossings over the Mersey in Halton is as important as ever for our regional economy.”
See our project finances page for more background information: www.merseygateway.co.uk/finances.
Timebank – Halton Haven
An innovative support scheme developed as part of the Mersey Gateway Project is back boosting local community organisation in Halton.
A project that was selected is Halton Haven, the team from Tarmac cleared the Woodland Walk to be enjoyed by patients and loved ones to enjoy.
Time Bank is a way for Merseylink – the consortium responsible for the design , construction, finance and operations of the Mersey Gateway Project Bridge and Road infrastructure- and Merseyflow – the tolling administrator ,to demonstrate their commitment to the local area and provide practical help and support to community groups, charities and voluntary organisations.
The scheme offers a commitment of time, expertise and resources from Merseylink and Merseyflow.
Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge toll charges increase on 1 April
Toll charges on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges will increase from Tuesday 1st April 2025 for the first time in over seven years.
Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) rates will increase at the same time. A new scheme is also being introduced to enable unregistered customers who receive a PCN for the first time to choose to use the fine amount to open an account with merseyflow and have their PCN cancelled.
The current charges will apply for crossings made up until 23:59 on Monday 31 March, with the new toll charges set out in the table below applying for any journeys made from 00:00 on Tuesday 1 April.
New toll charges from 1st April 2025
- Headline toll charges are going up by 20% with prices of monthly passes and discounted journeys for registered customers increasing by similar amounts.
Moving forward, the intention is that future toll charge changes will be considered and implemented every three years unless there are exceptional circumstances that make more regular changes required or if the government changes enforcement fees.
- Local User Discount Scheme (LUDS) plan – the cost of an annual LUDS plan is increasing by 20% to £12 per year. However, there will be a discount to £10 to renew the LUDS plan each year for eligible Halton residents who renew via auto renewal and set up auto payment.
Any eligible Halton resident can sign up for auto renewal today by logging into their merseyflow account and making the switch to auto renewal. They can also set up a direct debit to make annual payments easier.
- Penalty Charge Notices – PCN rates will increase from £40 to £50. Anyone who pays within 14 days will be eligible for a discounted PCN rates which will be chargeable at £25. Charge certificates will increase from £60 to £75. There are no changes to enforcement fees being introduced on 1 April, as these are set by a separate piece of government legislation.
There will be a new option for unregistered customers who receive a PCN for the first time after 1st April 2025 and pay within 14 days to use their initial discounted £25 PCN fee to open an account with merseyflow and have their PCN cancelled. This will enable them to have discounted crossings in the future.
Full details of the changes being made from 1st April 2025 are available online at www.merseyflow.co.uk/april-2025-changes and more detail about the wider project finances is available online at https://merseygateway.co.uk/finances/.
The increases will:
- be the first in seven and a half years since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened
- mean toll charges have increased by less than the cumulative RPI inflation rate – which has already reached 40% – since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened in 2017.
Emails or letters have been sent to all vehicle owners registered with toll operator merseyflow to inform registered customers of the changes.
Cllr Stef Nelson, Halton Borough Council’s portfolio holder for Environment and Urban Renewal, said: “We understand that no one wants to see costs rise, but this will be the first time that toll charges on the bridges have increased since the Mersey Gateway Bridge first opened back in 2017. I would encourage anyone who uses the bridges to register with merseyflow to get discounted crossings and make paying for your crossings as simple as possible. You can register online at www.merseyflow.co.uk.”
Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “Customers don’t need to do anything differently, as merseyflow’s systems will have the new costs built in for journeys made from 1 April, but we want to ensure that people are aware of the changes to toll charges and other scheme details that have been introduced.”