Tamar crossing fees will increase further

Call for more government cash

People in Devon and Cornwall will end up paying more for the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry if the government does not provide more financial help, according to councillors on both sides of the river. 

At a meeting of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee on Friday, members were unhappy about debts of more than £40 million and argued that people in the south west were being treated less fairly than those elsewhere in the UK.   

Tolls for the bridge and ferry are set to increase by 30 per cent in May.

Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Councils are jointly responsible for the bridge and ferry and set the tolls, but some committee members want more central funding.  

Cllr Philip Desmonde (Conservative, Pool & Tehidy) asked for a better finance model, going forward. 

“[It’s] very important that we have decent, sensible, sound financial modeling to ensure that the way in which we look at our capital programme, which I understand is going to be at least another 100 million over the next 20 years, and probably more because of inflation,” he explained. 

“And the way in which we model our borrowings and our income against our expenditure has got to be refined.”

Cllr Armand Toms (Independent, Looe East & Deviock) agreed the existing model was unsustainable and suggested they would be shifting responsibility onto future generations.    

“One of the worrying comments that I got just now was when somebody said ‘we’re going to borrow four-point [million] whatever it is’ to resurface it, but then we’re going to pay it back over 25 years. 

“And that means that every person that crosses that bridge, a proportion of that is going to go to financing something that’s already happened. 

“Now we’re talking about spending £100 plus million, with inflation, in the next 20 to 25 years. 

“So that means that we’re not going to only penalise our children, but our great grandchildren probably as well.”

Co-chair Cllr Jonathan Drean (Conservative, Budshead) said he understood the concerns and was trying to raise it at the highest level. 

“I was in London recently, at Portcullis House and I saw two of our three MPs. I continue to lobby on behalf of Plymouth. 

“I’m sure that is happening on the Cornwall side with the portfolio holder and the joint chair from Cornwall. At every opportunity I do make that point.” 

But Cllr Tom argued they needed to be more radical. “I think we need to go and say actually we need X or Y,” he said. “And I think that we should be getting £5 million a year. 

“Why? Because if we were in Scotland, they spend, I think the last time I looked, £209 million in supporting the Highland and Island ferries. 

“They took the toll off the Forth Road Bridge when it was totally uneconomic to do so because of the traffic levels. 

“They took it off the Skye bridge. They’ve taken it off the Severn Bridge. They’ve taken those tolls off and yet they talk about levelling up. 

“How about levelling up something in Devon and Cornwall because I don’t see it. And [a recent] letter said they’re not looking at this. I think that’s a travesty. 

“That means that because I’m not Welsh and I’m not Scottish, I will be treated differently. 

“And levelling up means that we should level up across the whole country. And we’re as important as anybody.”

Despite concerns, the committee agreed the 30 per cent toll increases on tag payments from May and cash tolls from next January; subject to approval by the Department for Transport.