Councillors vote not to increase Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry tolls to tackle forecast £7m deficit
There were calls for them to bump up costs by 30% and cut discounts given to motorists by 15%
Councillors have opted against increasing tolls and cutting discounts on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry amid warnings they are facing a £7million black hole.
There had been calls for tolls on the crossings to increase by 30% and for the amount of discount given to motorists who use the tag system to drop from 50% to 35%.
However at a meeting of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee today councillors opted against any changes to tolls and instead called for consultants to draw up a full business case for the operation, to look at alternative forms of income and for the Government to be asked to consider allowing tolls to increase in line with inflation and the Retail Price Index (RPI).
Although no increases in tolls have been recommended by the committee they could still be required depending on the findings of the new report which will be delivered in December.
The committee – which is made up of councillors from Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council which are jointly responsible for the bridge and ferry – was warned by officers that current forecasts showed that the bridge and ferry’s reserves could be wiped out by the end of 2022/23 and would be -£7.7m by the end of 2024/25.
Officers said that the only way to tackle the shortfall would be to raise income and they recommended a combination of reducing discounts and increasing tolls.
Councillors heard that the 50% discount given to motorists using the tag system was the most generous of any toll crossing in the country.
They also heard that there was still a drop in the current income of the ferry and bridge due to a reduction in traffic as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Traffic levels on the bridge are currently 87 to 88% of the pre-covid rates while the ferry is running at around 98% of pre-covid levels.
Officers said that they had not seen any visible benefit as a result of the large increase of people holidaying in the region.
They also said that there had been “unusual” new trends for traffic using the crossings which were different to those pre-covid.
However some local councillors said that there could have been some changes due to local people currently avoiding using the bridge due to delays caused by resurfacing works which are being undertaken.
Officers said that they did not expect traffic levels to return to pre-covid levels until 2025 and warned by that point they could face a deficit of £3.4m.
A number of different options were put to the committee for how the financial situation could be addressed, including increasing ferry prices to £1 more than the bridge toll.
The committee heard that discussions were ongoing with the government about being able to raise tolls in line with inflation in future, but heard that if this were to happen it would require a change in legislation which would take time and would not be able to be implemented to address the current situation.
Councillor Sheila Lennox-Boyd said that last summer the Government “gave a clear indication that they would support staged increases for the Tamar” which would see them increase in line with inflation.
The committee was warned that if tolls were not increased then any deficit would fall on the parent authorities – Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council.
Cornwall Council finance officers said that there was no allowance in the current budget proposals or the council’s medium term financial plan to cover any such cost.
Philip Desmonde, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for transport, said that he did not support any increase in tolls.
"My personal position is that toll increases are not justifiable and it is wrong to be asking to increase the tolls so soon after dramatically increasing them two years ago.
"It is the failure of all the officers involved from Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council and the owner."
Cllr Philip Desmonde - Cornwall Council
Cllr Desmonde said that there was no business case to justify increasing tolls by 30% and said he would not recommend any increases to the Cabinet.
Cllr Armand Toms said that he did not understand why tolls had been scrapped on bridges in Wales and Scotland while they remain in place on the Tamar.
He said that the joint committee should be working with Cornwall’s MPs to put pressure on the Government to provide support for the crossings.
Cllr Desmonde said that consultants should be brought in to consider all aspects of the bridge and ferry operations, provide a business case and look for alternative ways of generating income with a report coming back to the committee in December. That could mean that tolls may still have to increase to meet the financial demands of the bridge and ferry.
This was agreed by the committee which also agreed to continue to press the Government to support and allow future toll increases in line with inflation.