Tamar Toll Action Group

11/10/2026

Adrian Parsons - Cornwall Councillor for Altarnun & Stoke Climsland is on the money here with his call for Government intervention and funding.

Tamar bridge observations.
Again yesterday when heading to Plymouth we hit queuing traffic before Carkeel Roundabout, already it feels like this area is at capacity even before all the proposed new houses are built in Saltash. We then reach the bridge and more often than not it’s slow with traffic backing up. My observation yesterday was most were paying at the booths which would imply they aren’t local. How we have endless trails of cars handing over £3 ago and it’s still losing money is beyond me. We now have MPs calling for a local discount which in some respect is what those of us who use the tag have, would they consider making this less for locals I can’t see it such is the state of things. It’s clear we’ve reached a point the cost to those of us in South East/East Cornwall is too high. Businesses and hauliers have to grapple with queues and delays putting them at a disadvantage. It’s not working and nor is it sustainable. At what point will our government representatives realise the benefits that the removal of these tolls and frictionless crossings would bring to residents and businesses alike. It’s time they pulled together to do the right thing.

08/10/2026

A third bridge over the Menai Straits, a bridge too far?

Addressing the Senedd, Deputy Minister for Transport Mark Hooper said:

“People want action, not endless discussion. They want reliable journeys, less disruption and confidence that Government is getting on with improving things and making a difference to people’s lives. And that’s exactly what we’re doing."

“Together these measures should make a noticeable difference to people as they go about their daily lives, delivering better travel choices, improved resilience and quicker and more reliable journeys.”

🤔 Anyone know anywhere else where these statements also apply and such investment and improvements might be welcome?

Historical and past budget allocations included £3 million earmarked for early design and development, while earlier pre-shelved estimates valued the complete four-lane bridge project around £400 million (with some estimates or broader regional projections ranging up to £700 million). Does Anglesey's population of circa 69'000 people justify that level of investment for a third bridge?

We should clarify that Mark Hooper is the Deputy Minister for transport for the devolved Welsh government. We do have our own equivalent though, so answers/questions on a postcard to:

https://members.parliament.uk/member/4943/contact

The minister confirmed that "immediate recommencement of development work" for a third Menai crossing will now take place.

30/09/2026

Very pleased to hear the below from Cornwall Councillor Andrew Long, co-chair of the Joint Committee, at last week's Joint Committee meeting when he made clear that the long-term ambition remained a toll-free crossing.

“The Joint Committee’s stated aim has been, is now and, as far as I’m aware, will be in the future, a toll-free Tamar,”

Building the evidence case for why this change is necessary should be a key part of the strategy. It was good to hear it being acknowledged that data plays in an important role in that.

Action Group chairman questioned whether the joint committee remained committed to abolishing the tolls

28/09/2026

Our Chair submitted a public question to the Joint Committee for answering at their meeting on September 25th.

We are grateful to the Joint Chair of the Joint Committee for permitting his supplementary to be asked by a TTAG representative on his behalf. The text of the questions and the given responses are below. Footage from the livestream of the meeting is also here attached.

Question: “At the January meeting, I requested a “Tolls Impact Assessment”, citing the Humber Bridge example. What was the purpose of Appendix 6 of the 26th of June meeting as though described as a “social & economic impact assessment”, it did not assess user impact. Will this Committee commission such a report?”

Response: “Thank you for your question. The purpose of the report was to undertake an assessment of the strategic, social and economic value of the Tamar Crossings and to understand the impact if either crossing was to close. Whilst this may not provide a specific answer to the question of impact of the tolls, it does provide sufficient data to be able to make an informed assessment and contains accurate and up to date data in support of business cases and wider engagement. Moreover, it meets with a requirement to be able to make a wide range of recommendations to the Joint Committee in respect of future capital investment. There are no plans to commission a further report.”

Supplementary Question: “This relates to data. I believe that data is an essential, key element for making the case to our elected MPs for the need for change to the funding source here. This is applicable to building the case for achieving both options, i.e. cheaper tolls for locals as mentioned by MPs bordering the crossing, or toll abolition as desired by the majority of users, and reportedly this very committee. It is in pursuit of that belief that we, the Tamar Toll Action Group, have been seeking data on crossings used from Tamar Crossings; both to establish where the financial toll impact is to the people and businesses of the region, and to document where it hits the hardest. Thus far most of our enquiries to Tamar Crossings on this have been declined, including a Freedom of Information Act request of cost data by postal district. Reading paragraph 5.1 of the Governance Statement in this meeting’s reports pack it is no longer clear whether the Joint Committee is committed to toll abolition or to cheaper tolls for locals. Can the Joint Chairs please advise:

1. If you agree that data is necessary to drive change, and if so, what directions will you give to Tamar Crossings to retrieve or produce that data and put it in the public domain?

2. Whether the Joint Committee is still pursuing toll abolition as their priority, or has instead fallen in line behind MPs’ plans for cheaper tolls for locals?”

Response: “Thanks for that supplementary question. Any data we have can be made available, the challenge we have is that the quantity of that data involves a huge amount of work and I think under FoI rules, if it’s considered unreasonable for a business to carry out work (what you’re asking) then we can refuse that. We simply don’t have sufficient resource to pull out the data. The data can be made available, absolutely, but in its raw format.

With regards to what are the aims of the Joint Committee, the Joint Committee’s stated aims has been, is now, and as far as I’m aware (until they tell me differently in the future): the long term ambition is for toll free Tamar crossings; and that is for both ferry and bridge. The short term aim, in order to get there, is a stepped process. You cannot go from one to the other without a stepped process towards it; and that stepped process is first of all to relieve the pressure and the burden on users who don’t have a choice of how to get across the Tamar, so cheaper tolls is the first step towards that. A potential removal of the toll booths with a different crossing system is another step towards it. But the long term ambition has always been, is at the moment, and I believe is in the future, the long term aim for (certainly the majority of us is) – a toll free Tamar.”

24/09/2026

Some interesting information in the agenda pack for this week's Joint Committee meeting.

At almost £18 million raised in tolls, an 8% increase in revenue raised year on year.

And did you know that all buses enjoy a toll free concession? That's a lot of space and weight on each ferry that carries one with zero revenue raised from it.

Report reveals combined income from the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry reached £17.9-million in the 12 months to the end of August

08/09/2026

A couple of news articles from the recent edition of the Saltash Observer. Wherever you live and whoever your MP is, if you a user of the Tamar Crossings and want to see change...

The post Saltash Observer, August 2026 appeared first on Tamar Toll Action Group.

A couple of news articles from the recent edition of the Saltash Observer. Wherever you live and whoever your MP is, if you a user of the Tamar Crossings and want to see change...

01/09/2026

"Ah but the government doesn't fund ferries"

This is a strawman argument that we hear a lot when making the case that the government should be subsidising the Torpoint ferries.

In fact indirectly the government does fund ferries, as between the Woolwich ferries (through TfL subsidies) and the Scottish Highland and Island ferries (through the Barnett formula) hundreds of millions of public funds are channelled into ferry services around the UK.

The article at the link in the comments refers to a cost overrun of £20 million on the Scottish ferries being built in Turkey for State-owned ferries agency CMAL. £20 million though is a drop in the ocean. The other images are from the 2026/2027 Scottish budget, they also show the year end position (Outturn) for 2024/2025. Whilst for 2025/2026, ABR stands for Autumn Budget Revision (which is where the original spending plans get adjusted in year to reflect any new resource allocations).

So, Scottish ferries subsidised by UK tax payers to the tune of:

2024/25 - £437.2 million
2025/26 - £478.5 million
2026/27 - £513.4 million

Now tell us again in a way that is credible that "the government doesn't fund ferries". Or that the circa £20 million per year needed to fund the Tamar Crossings in their entirety is "too much money".

30/08/2026

One for the naysayers who state the RN would not permit a bridge for Torpoint.

To access Rosyth Dockyard, the RN must transit under the Forth Road Bridge, the Forth Rail Bridge and the South Queensferry crossing (oh yes, and did we mention that they're all untolled? 🤔).

A high level bridge over the Hamoaze for them to go under may not be viable on cost or technical grounds, but an opening bridge absolutely is. There has to be an option that long term is more viable financially than building another generation of ferries that operate at an annual loss of circa £5 million per annum (a loss that the data indicates is primarily borne by users from South East Cornwall).

Edit: it also seems particularly pertinent during the current reduction to a two ferry service, to highlight that an opening bridge would require less maintenance than 3 ferries, less staff and would also deliver a more reliable service with shorter crossing times.

Now a little bit of trivia:

HMS Duncan is named after Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan.

Who he was: Adam Duncan (1731–1804) was a famous 18th-century Royal Navy commander.

His victory: He defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown on October 11, 1797.

The ship's legacy: Launched in 2010, she is the sixth (and last) Daring class air defence destroyer and is the seventh Royal Navy vessel to carry the name.