M65 toll idea not serious, says Reform councillor

A Reform UK councillor has claimed he was not serious about his idea for a toll on the M65 after it was criticised as "bonkers".

Burnley Council's Joel Tetlow had suggested a toll between 50p and £1 to access the council-managed stretch of the M65 from junction 10 at Burnley and junction 14 at Colne.

But after his idea was met with outrage, Tetlow told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it was to merely spark a discussion about who should end up paying for the £15 million drainage work on the commuter route.

The six-mile section of the M65 is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council, while the rest is maintained by National Highways.

The stretch of road suffers from frequent flooding, which often causes significant disruption to motorists.

Tetlow raised his toll idea at an environment, economic growth and transport scrutiny committee meeting.

He had said: "We need to look outside the box and do something a little bit different than just what we've always been doing."

But the idea was met with anger from leader of the opposition, Independent Azhar Ali, who called the idea "bonkers".

He added: "It's absolutely crazy."

Independent group council leader Afrasiab Anwar said he would write to Lancashire County Council "expressing our 100 per cent opposition to even thinking about such a measure".

Reform group leader Mark Poulton added: "I can assure you that the Reform leadership at Lancashire County Council have no intention of making that stretch a toll road."

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