Pembrokeshire County Council announced on Wednesday that an in-principal agreement has been reached with Welsh Government to abolish the Cleddau Bridge tolls from April 2019.

The Authority’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Leisure, Culture and Tourism, Councillor Paul Miller, said: “I am pleased to be able to report that we remain on track to abolish the Cleddau Bridge tolls early next year.

“Abolishing the tolls has been a priority both for me and this administration since taking office and I’m pleased we are continuing to deliver on our commitments to the people of Pembrokeshire.

“The tolls are, without question, an unwelcome barrier to trade in Pembrokeshire and removing that barrier - which currently almost perfectly divides the Haven Waterway Enterprise Zone - represents a very positive development for the county.

“Individuals who need to cross the bridge every day for work will, from April, save at least £6 a week on their crossings. That could easily add up to an extra £270 a year in people’s pockets.

“Officers have put a lot of work into these discussions over a number of months as have colleagues at Welsh Government and I’d like to place on record my thanks to them. There’s more work to do before April but we remain on track.”

Those staff on duty at the Cleddau Bridge will be given an update on the discussions by senior officers this afternoon.

While bridge maintenance staff are not affected by the changes, a number of roles will be subject to redundancy procedures.

A Council spokesman said: “We will make every effort to redeploy any staff facing redundancy as a result of the tolls being abolished. This will however be subject to an alternative suitable and available role being available elsewhere within the Authority.”