Tamar Toll Action Group

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.

29/08/2026

We quote:

"The Government's £27 billion Road Investment Strategy allocated £8.4 billion for resurfacing carriageways and renewing bridges between 2026 and 2031."

How much of that £8.4 billion will be heading towards supporting us with our ongoing daily cost burden that crossing the Tamar has become?

Questions on a postcard to:

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

National Highways said the work would ensure the Thelwall Viaduct remained 'safe, resilient and fit for purpose'

18/08/2026

The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around 2,250 metres (1.4 mi), it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened in 1966, having been built to replace the former Tay ferry service, popularly known in Dundee as "the Fifie".

The "Fifie" was a passenger and vehicle ferry service across the River Tay operated from Craigie Pier, Dundee, to Newport-on-Tay. Until the opening of the road bridge, three vessels operated the service, namely the B. L. Nairn (a paddle steamer built in 1929); the Abercraig and the Scotscraig (diesel powered, fitted with Voith Schneider propellers and built in the Caledon Shipyard in Dundee). The paddle steamer was only used when the other ferries needed maintenance. The paddle steamer was scrapped while the Scotscraig and Abercraig ended their days in Malta.

The bridge was originally a bidirectional toll road with the original 1966 toll for motorcycles, cars and goods vehicles of 1/-, 2/6 and 10/-, respectively. Heavy fines were imposed on drivers who broke down on the bridge if they had run out of petrol. On 1 June 1991, one-way tolls were introduced, for southbound traffic only.

The legislation enabling the levying of tolls was renewed by Parliament repeatedly (originally that of the UK but now the responsibility of the Scottish Government), most recently on 1 March 2006, where the toll remained unchanged. Although motorcycles were exempt; the tolls for cars, buses and heavy goods vehicles were 80p, £1.40 and £2.00, respectively when, on 31 May 2007, the Scottish Parliament voted to scrap tolls on all bridges in Scotland. This came into effect at midnight on 10 February 2008.

Lobby your MP for the abolition of tolls here. Tolls are a regressive tax that negatively impacts all of our society irrespective of the ability of an individual or business to pay.

15/08/2026

Sounds very much the same observation made by many of our supporters here. Lots of similar comments made this week during the recent tunnel closure.

A better solution would be national adoption of the crossings (here and there).

No more toll booths = no more bottleneck....
and therefore reduced congestion.

See link in the comments for the full story.

04/08/2026

Thank you for joining us Anna Gelderd MP and for your recognition of why this issue is so important for the people and businesses of South East Cornwall.....

But re "Local people and businesses have been clear about what they want: crossings that are fair", 🤔 you meant "free" there right? We definitely heard you calling with us for "no more tolls". 😉

Investing in local infrastructure and why the Tamar Bridge protest matters

29/07/2026

For the record, we had no concerns about the police presence as we were confident that our event was well planned, well managed and would pass without incident. Also confident that our supporters would remain peaceful at all times.

Did anyone spot the police motorcycle es**rt that Brunel's HGV cavalcade were given?

On Saturday, protestors took to the Tamar Bridge to demand an end to Tamar Crossing fees.

They were met with nearly a dozen police cars across Saltash and Plymouth, alongside an es**rt of Police Liaison Officers.

This is despite Tamar Toll Action Group's peaceful approach to organising and support from MPs and Councillors alike.

https://cobblestonemedia.co.uk/2026/07/29/why-were-tamar-crossings-protesters-policed-so-heavily/

28/07/2026

Thank you Cobblestone Media great points raised by all three Councillors interviewed.

Do please note though that the funding support we are campaigning for is for the Tamar Crossings (i.e. including the Torpoint floating bridge) rather than specifically the Tamar Road Bridge.

27/07/2026

Our thanks again to the 250 odd people who came on Saturday. This included both our current and our former MP in South East Cornwall, all of the Cornish element of the Joint Committee,...

The post Tamar Toll Action Group Protest March July 25th 2026 – Chair’s Speech appeared first on Tamar Toll Action Group.

Our thanks again to the 250 odd people who came on Saturday. This included both our current and our former MP in South East Cornwall, all of the Cornish element of the Joint Committee,...

26/07/2026

Why indeed!