FURTHER rises in the cost of crossing the River Tamar look set to come in as councillors are asked to approve the budget and business plan for the bridge and ferry.

Cornwall’s Council leaders will today (Wednesday February 8) be asked to approve the capital revenue and expenditure set out by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Commitee, and to approve the draft business plan for 2023/24. It will then go before all of Cornwall’s Councillors later in February.

The plans include a recommendation that the committee persue the path of linking regular toll rises to inflation, which would require a change in law.

Plymouth City Councillors have already given their approval to the plans, although not unanimously: Plympton’s Terri Beer said she “could not vote for more increases as we are all suffering enough”.

The total revenue for the crossings in 2023-24 is set to be £17.06-million with £14.2-million of this coming from bridge tolls, and £1.83-million from ferry tolls, and the remainder from Tag fees, agency charges, and rents and other income.

The total expenditure for the crossings, which includes around £5-million in capital and interest repayments, is set to be £17.48-million, leaving a deficit of £422,000.

The budget for 2023/24 includes several already approved projects:

Phase 2 of the Bridge Access Improvement Works; Main Cable Remedial Works; Work to the Ferry Traffic Control Systems; Ferry Refitting; Rocker Pendal Remedial Works; and Ferry Gantry Tower Replacement.

The committee is also proposing to carry out refurbishment to the offices and workshop at the Torpoint ferry for £300,000, and toll booth replacement on the bridge at £400,000.

The total cost of the maintenance and operations for the bridge is forecast at £5.43-million for the coming year and for the ferry at £6.56-million.

The joint committee says that in order to keep the crossings financially sustainable it will review the toll charging structure once again in the summer of 2023, and “determine and progress the preferred route to the index-linking of tolls”.

The committee also notes that it has continued to lobby for long-term financial support for the Bridge, although this request has been without success to date.

In December 2022, committee members agreed to request that National Highways, other partner agencies and Cornish Members of Parliament be requested to attend a meeting to discuss the need for support on the maintenance of the Tamar Crossing and the A38.

The Tamar Toll Action Group, which has some 2,500 members, has been writing to MPs on both sides of the Tamar requesting that they highlight in Parliament the negative impact of the crossings charge on local people, and lend their voice to the call for central funding.