Hundreds march across Tamar Bridge in toll protest

Cross the Tamar Bridge from Cornwall into Devon and it costs £3. Cross back the other way and it costs nothing. For thousands of people in South East Cornwall, that one-way charge is the price of getting to work, to a hospital appointment, to college, or to see family. On Saturday, hundreds of them walked across the bridge to say they have had enough.

Hundreds march across the bridge

The protest was organised by the Tamar Toll Action Group (TTAG), chaired by Scott Slavin, and took place on Saturday 25 July. Supporters gathered at Alexandra Square in Saltash from 12:30pm before setting off across the crossing at 1pm.

Pedestrians made their way over the south cantilever while HGVs carrying banners moved along the north cantilever at walking pace. Organisers had been clear beforehand that the lorries would not stop or block traffic. Motorists were still advised to avoid the north crossing between roughly 12:45pm and 2pm, with the timing landing on the same weekend as the Saltash Regatta and the start of the school summer holidays.

The action group framed the march around 65 years of tolls. The bridge opened in 1961, and campaigners point out that people living on the Cornwall side have paid to reach essential services ever since, while around 55 other tolls across the country have been scrapped over the past century.

What the campaigners want

TTAG is calling for lower charges for local residents in the short term and long-term government funding for Tamar Crossings, the joint body that runs the bridge and the Torpoint Ferry. Some in the group want the tolls abolished altogether and the crossings taken into central government hands, pointing to other UK bridges that have had tolls removed or debts written off.

The current standard car toll is £3, up from £2.60 earlier this year. Tamar Tag users pay £1.50, up from £1.30. Scott Slavin has previously put the cost to a regular crossing family at somewhere between £300 and £500 a year. A recent consultation on the crossings drew more than 5,800 responses, and a proposed rise in the Tamar Tag administration fee, from 80p to £2, was rejected by the joint committee after public opposition.

Anna Gelderd’s response

South East Cornwall’s MP, Anna Gelderd, was among the speakers at Saltash before the march set off, alongside Andrew Long and Dan Rogerson. In a statement after the event, she said she was proud to have stood with the community and set out the case she has been making in Westminster.

“I was proud to stand alongside our community at the Tamar Bridge Protest. People across South East Cornwall are fed up with paying to leave our area for employment, education, or essential services like healthcare,” Anna said.

“Since my first day as South East Cornwall’s MP, I’ve been raising this in Parliament, holding a debate on the issue, writing and meeting with all relevant Ministers, and working with Tamar Crossings because I know South East Cornwall deserves a fairer deal and I will continue to fight for it.

“Thank you to the Tamar Tolls Action Group for organising this important protest for our area, and to all the local people who turned up and made our views clear.”

The Department for Transport has said decisions on the tolls remain a matter for the joint committee that runs the crossings. For the hundreds who walked across on Saturday, the question of who pays to leave Cornwall is still open.