The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry are jointly owned and operated by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council. Between them the crossings carry around 18 million vehicles a year (16 million on the bridge and 2 million on the ferries). The crossings are operated together as a joint service and are funded on a ‘user pays’ principle from toll income. This means that all the money needed to operate, maintain and improve the two crossings comes from toll charges – no funding is received from the Government or from the owners of the two crossings – Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council.

Although the original costs of building the Tamar Bridge were repaid many years ago, as Tamar Crossings do not receive any funding from either the Government or the two Councils who own and operate the Tamar Bridge or Torpoint Ferry, tolls are still needed to meet the costs of the ongoing operation, maintenance and improvement of the two crossings.

This is different from crossings like the Severn bridges which are run by National Highways (formerly Highways England) on behalf of the Government and funded by general taxation, but is similar to a number of other crossings including Humber Bridge and the recently constructed Mersey Gateway Bridge.

Neither Council is in a position to fund a deficit and there is currently no prospect of support from Government, although the Joint Committee and the two Councils are continuing to actively lobby for that support.

The income from the tolls is used to operate, maintain and improve the two crossings. Over 110 staff are employed to deliver the service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

During the past few years significant works have been carried out at the bridge and the ferries. These include a major upgrade of tolling systems and the introduction of contactless payment at both crossings.

We have finished some major projects on the Bridge – painting, kerbs and resurfacing totalling nearly £17m – and are about to begin significant works on the deck bearings and support cables.

At the Torpoint Ferry we have begun a cycle of refits for the three vessels, completing the first refit in June this year, with the other two scheduled for 2024 and 2025. During subsequent refits we will be replacing the chain gantries that support the tensioning weights for the chains. We will also be improving our shoreside pedestrian and traffic management system. These works represent around £7.5m of further investment.

We will be progressing work to improve and update ferry traffic control systems shortly and future aspirations include ‘booth free’ tolling at the Tamar Bridge and in due course there will be further cycles of bridge resurfacing and recoating.

The previous increase in tolls was designed to rebuild and maintain a reserve of up to £3.3m, avoiding the need for a further increase in tolls in the medium term. Unfortunately the combination of significant increases in the cost of living and interest rates and a reduction in income due to the lower than expected levels of traffic means that the organisation’s reserves are forecast to be completely depleted during 2024/ 2025, with Tamar Crossings facing a significant and growing financial deficit unless there is intervention to increase income.

There is currently no prospect of further support from the Government, however the Joint Committee and the two Councils are continuing to lobby the Government.

The Severn River Crossings are run by National Highways (formerly Highways England) on behalf of the Government and are funded by general taxation. While drivers do not pay tolls to use the Severn River Crossings, they are not ‘free’ – the costs of operating and maintaining the Severn River Crossings are effectively paid for by all tax payers, regardless of whether they use the bridges.

There is currently no prospect of further support from the Government, however the Joint Committee and the two Councils are continuing to lobby the Government.

We have lobbied for support and continue to do so.

Members of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee have been working with MPs in Cornwall and Plymouth over a number of years to seek ongoing financial support from the Government for the two crossings. The two Joint Chairs and the portfolio holders with responsibility for transport from Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council have written to the Government on a number of occasions emphasising their concerns over the situation facing Tamar Crossings.

Whilst there is currently no prospect of further support from the Government, the Joint Committee and the two Councils are continuing to lobby Ministers for a change in its position.

During the past 12 months the Joint Committee has looked in detail at all areas of spending, including staffing, and a range of service reduction and other options to address the financial shortfall. The Joint Committee is continuing to lobby the Government over financial support.

In the 1950’s the two local authorities on either side of the river Tamar, Plymouth City Council and Cornwall County Council, recognised a need to build a river crossing to replace the ferry which ran between Plymouth and Saltash. As the Government was not prepared to provide funding for the crossing, the two authorities had to sponsor the crossing themselves. This led to the Tamar Bridge Act being passed in 1957. This allowed the crossing to be built and led to the formation of the Tamar Bridge & Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee to be responsible for its operation, maintenance and improvement, funded through tolls on a ‘user pays’ principle. Under the Act the Torpoint Ferry, owned by Cornwall County Council at the time, was also incorporated with the Bridge into a single business unit.

The Tamar Bridge Act and its subsequent revisions remains in place today. The Act sets out the arrangements for the Joint Committee to operate, maintain and improve both the bridge and ferries. These arrangements result in a ‘user pays’ principle, and the organisation does not receive any income from either the Government or the two parent authorities – the only income comes from the payment of tolls by the people who use the crossings.

Suspension bridges are complex structures, with many components, and require a very different management approach and a much higher level of inspection and maintenance than other, more simple designs. The Tamar Bridge was opened in 1961 and is currently approximately halfway through its intended design life of 120 years. It now carries a much higher volume of traffic than it was originally expected to carry when it opened in 1961, and much heavier goods vehicles.

In order to make sure that the bridge achieves at least its minimum design life, Tamar Crossings is required to comply with current UK legislation and standards relating to bridge inspections and maintenance. This includes a thorough bridge inspection regime (3 monthly, 6 monthly, annual, bi-annual and 6-yearly inspections) which is carried out to ensure that the bridge meets current standards.

These bridge inspections identify defects or areas of the bridge that require further inspection. The results of the inspections are then used to identify and prioritise maintenance tasks – such as jet washing, cleaning, minor repairs, greasing/cleaning of movement and expansion joints or repainting of steel corrosion for example. Some of these are ad-hoc, and others occur on a routine or regular basis.

On occasion the inspections identify larger defects or issues that require significant projects to rectify – such as the work done in 2017 and 2018 to replace more than 1,800 critical bolts that form part of the bridge suspension system.

During the past few years significant works have been carried out at the bridge and the ferries. These include a major upgrade of tolling systems and the introduction of contactless payment at both crossings.

We have finished some major projects on the Bridge – painting, kerbs and resurfacing totalling nearly £17m – and are about to begin significant works on the deck bearings and support cables.

We will be progressing work to improve and update ferry traffic control systems shortly and future aspirations include ‘booth free’ tolling at the Tamar Bridge and in due course there will be further cycles of bridge resurfacing and recoating.

You can access copies of the statement of accounts for Tamar Crossings on the website https://www.tamarcrossings.org.uk/about-us/statement-of-accounts

You can access copies of the statement of accounts for Tamar Crossings here https://www.tamarcrossings.org.uk/about-us/statement-of-accounts/

The tolls charged are regulated by Central Government and the two councils have to submit a robust business case for any increase in tolls. 60% of drivers currently enjoy a 50% discount and more convenience by pre-payment using the organisation’s TamarTag system.

As in previous Tamar Crossings consultation exercises, we are using a representative sample of people using the crossings – cash, card and tag account users – on two set days (a weekday and a weekend day). Up to 30,000 consultation packs, including a leaflet and copy of the questionnaire will be offered to all users at both crossings on Saturday, 7 October and Tuesday, 10 October 2023. Packs will be handed out to drivers paying with cash or contactless cards or using mobility or other free passes, and emailed or posted to tag account holders who use either of the crossings on either of those days.

Using this method helps to ensure that we obtain the views of a balanced cross-section of users. We are also inviting feedback from a range of key stakeholders including the emergency services, local councils and haulage associations.

Any interested parties who are not part of the structured survey exercise, including tag account holders who do not travel on those two days, can provide written feedback by email: consultation@tamarcrossings.org.uk. or by writing to Tamar Crossings. Details of the consultation are on the Tamar Crossings website

All comments made during the consultation exercise, which ends on 29th October, will be included in the analysis of the feedback and presented to members of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee at their meeting in December.

The method being used helps to ensure that we obtain the views of a balanced cross section of users, reflecting the general profile of users. As in previous Tamar Crossings consultation exercises, we are using a representative sample of people using the crossings – both cash and tag account users – on two set days (a weekday and a weekend day). Consultation packs, including a leaflet and copy of the questionnaire, will be handed out to drivers who stop to pay with cash/contactless card or use a mobility pass at the toll booths or pay with cash or use a mobility pass on the ferry. For TamarTag users the packs will be emailed or posted to tag account holders who used the crossings on the sample days.

Any interested parties who are not part of the structured survey exercise, including tag account holders who do not travel on those two days, can provide written feedback by email: consultation@tamarcrossings.org.uk. or by writing to Tamar Crossings.

The consultation will run until 29 October 2023 following which the information gathered will be analysed and presented to members of the Joint Committee at its meeting in December for their consideration before making a final decision.

We are keen to receive written feedback from interested parties who were not part of the structured survey exercise. Anyone who wishes to make their views known as part of the consultation exercise, or who has any queries or would like further information can contact us by email: consultation@tamarcrossings.org.uk

All comments made during the consultation exercise, which ends on Sunday, 20 October, will be included in the analysis of the feedback and presented to members of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee at their meeting in December.

The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry are jointly owned by Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council, with the operation of the service overseen by a governing Committee - the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee - comprising five councillors from both local authorities who are elected by the public.

The Committee generally meets quarterly, and all of the reports that are presented to the Committee are available to the public online on the websites of both councils. Meetings are open to the press and public, and members of the public can also ask questions at the beginning of the meetings provided that they have submitted them in advance – details of how to do that can be found on the websites of the parent authorities.

The Tamar Bridge and the Torpoint Ferries are owned by the parent authorities - Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council - under the Tamar Bridge Act legislation. This requires the Joint Committee to operate, maintain and improve both the Bridge and Ferries. Information on how the money received by Tamar Crossings is spent is published here: Statement of Accounts

The physical maintenance of the Saltash Tunnel is undertaken and funded by National Highways (formerly Highways England). However the bridge control room does control the traffic flow and monitor environmental conditions in the tunnel primarily because of the continuous tidal 3-lane system that is shared by both Tunnel and Bridge, and National Highways shares the cost of running the Control Room.