Tamar tolls increase halted by £1.6m government grant

Plans to raise tolls on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry have been halted after a £1.6m government grant, managers have said.

Crossings owners Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council were considering increases to cover financial shortfalls caused by Covid-19 reducing traffic.

The cash meant plans to increase tolls at the start of 2021 "will not need to go ahead at this stage", managers said.

A charge for a car would stay at £2 or £1 for pre-paid journeys, they added.

The routes are free to cross from Plymouth, but tolls apply when coming from Cornwall.

The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee said each council was receiving £821,553 from a compensation scheme set up by the government to help local authorities deal with the impact of the coronavirus and it would cover the period up to July 2020.

The money meant "proposals to increase toll prices at the beginning of next year will not need to go ahead at this stage", it said.

Bosses were planning to apply for more money for the period after July, it added. 

The bridge and ferry carry about 18 million vehicles a year.

They receive no government subsides and had an operational budget of about £10m in the 2018/19 financial year.