Vista Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 As those of you who are local may know, in parallel to managing Old Skool Ford, I have been busy for the last couple of years campaigning with a team of colleagues for change on an important local issue here in the Westcountry. As you can see, the RS gets roped into event support and pulls a crowd wherever it appears. She and I would greatly appreciate some help, help that will take you just a minute of your time. Crossing the Tamar Crossings, and those of you who joined us for the 2023 Tour of the Moor may remember the bridge, costs the residents of my small town an enormous figure of arounnd £2 million in tolls annually. Across the wider region on the immediate either side of the two crossings, this figure leaps to over £5.5 million and over £7.5million as you travel slightly further afield. These costs are cumulative and are crippling for those people who rely on the crossings for access to work, health care, education, leisure etc. Recently the local authority that manages the crossings voted to increase our tolls by a further 15% when they had already increased them by 30% as recently as January 2023. If this further toll uplift proceeds, it means our tolls will have increased by 50% since December 2022, by 100% since early 2019 and by a massive 650% since 1992. This is an enormous financial burden. So, how can you help? Well, our committee at the Tamar Toll Action Group have been lobbying local MP's in our region and have support in our campaign for change from a number of them. If you are a Westcountry local please give our page a follow at the link above, and wherever you are in the UK, please sign the petition below that our MP will be taking to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to oppose the toll revision request when it is made. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and any shares of this petition link are greatly appreciated. TOLLS PETITION 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Estate Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 2 hours ago, Vista said: As those of you who are local may know, in parallel to managing Old Skool Ford, I have been busy for the last couple of years campaigning with a team of colleagues for change on an important local issue here in the Westcountry. As you can see, the RS gets roped into event support and pulls a crowd wherever it appears. She and I would greatly appreciate some help, help that will take you just a minute of your time. Crossing the Tamar Crossings, and those of you who joined us for the 2023 Tour of the Moor may remember the bridge, costs the residents of my small town an enormous figure of arounnd £2 million in tolls annually. Across the wider region on the immediate either side of the two crossings, this figure leaps to over £5.5 million and over £7.5million as you travel slightly further afield. These costs are cumulative and are crippling for those people who rely on the crossings for access to work, health care, education, leisure etc. Recently the local authority that manages the crossings voted to increase our tolls by a further 15% when they had already increased them by 30% as recently as January 2023. If this further toll uplift proceeds, it means our tolls will have increased by 50% since December 2022, by 100% since early 2019 and by a massive 650% since 1992. This is an enormous financial burden. So, how can you help? Well, our committee at the Tamar Toll Action Group have been lobbying local MP's in our region and have support in our campaign for change from a number of them. If you are a Westcountry local please give our page a follow at the link above, and wherever you are in the UK, please sign the petition below that our MP will be taking to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to oppose the toll revision request when it is made. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and any shares of this petition link are greatly appreciated. TOLLS PETITION I don't get down your way very much but this type of extra tax really hits local people and businesses hard so I have added my support to your petition. Vista Estate is solidly behind it too as he supports many charities throughout the year. 👊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 signed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 Thanks both. @Vista Estate we have taken to calling it the Tamar Toll Tax. The costs are extreme. There's a local haulage business near me paying around £7,000 per month. Someone who crosses it by car 5 times per week for work and a few more times for leisure is looking at a bill of £500 - £600 per year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige65 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 Thanks for explaining the costs and increases Scott, I generally use the A30 so it doesn’t affect me very much but for locals it must be a real strain on those that are already struggling financially. it reminds me of living in Hampshire and the local hospital charging the staff to park at work! Signed the petition and best of luck with the Action Group 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 6 hours ago, Nige65 said: Thanks for explaining the costs and increases Scott, I generally use the A30 so it doesn’t affect me very much but for locals it must be a real strain on those that are already struggling financially. it reminds me of living in Hampshire and the local hospital charging the staff to park at work! Signed the petition and best of luck with the Action Group 👍 Thank you Nige. Not sure where you are in Cornwall but if you could share the petition with friends, family and colleagues down your way, I would really appreciate it. As with all such campaigns, half the battle is making people aware. You may actually be surprised how far west the cost is spread. Tale a look at the numbers in these tables. The cost by postal district and constituency are just for the Tag account holders. Cash payers are in addition to these numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 5 Author Report Share Posted March 5 Can anyone else help with this? It takes less than a minute to sign the petition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colr6 Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 Done 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 5 Author Report Share Posted March 5 30 minutes ago, colr6 said: Done 👍 Thanks Col. Due to the high rates they charge for HGV's, local hauliers face enormous costs from this crossing. There's a haulage business near me that has costs of between £6,000 and £7,000 per month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colr6 Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 16 minutes ago, Vista said: Thanks Col. Due to the high rates they charge for HGV's, local hauliers face enormous costs from this crossing. There's a haulage business near me that has costs of between £6,000 and £7,000 per month. I’ve had that pain with the Humber Bridge on my doorstep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 6 Author Report Share Posted March 6 Yes, comparisons between the other remaining large tolled crossings in England (Humber, Dart and Mersey) also feature as part of our campaign. One significant difference between the Humber and Tamar bridges are their respective sizes. The Humber & Mersey bridges come in at around 2200m long, the Dartford Bridge is a whopping 2872m long. The Tamar Bridge? just 642m long. Tiny by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Knight Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 Signed bud. That’s scandalous for the haulage businesses on top of the rise in fuel. SME’s and locals suffer. Unity is strength. 👊🏻 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 8 Author Report Share Posted March 8 57 minutes ago, Dave Knight said: Signed bud. That’s scandalous for the haulage businesses on top of the rise in fuel. SME’s and locals suffer. Unity is strength. 👊🏻 Thanks Dave. Any support from anyone else is much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xp197777 Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 Just signed it Scott 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 What post code do you want me to use? mine is obviously miles away and might look sus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Knight Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 35 minutes ago, BaileyMex said: What post code do you want me to use? mine is obviously miles away and might look sus I used my Manchester one. It affects everyone I think, even holiday makers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Gotcha! Done!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 7 hours ago, BaileyMex said: Gotcha! Done!!! Thank you and yes, I am in touch with our MP about it as she is the one who raised the petition. She said she welcomed signatures from across the UK so please do ask any friends or family to sign it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted March 30 Author Report Share Posted March 30 Anyone else up for signing this? Over 4,000 signatures now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Estate Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 On 30/03/2024 at 07:05, Vista said: Anyone else up for signing this? Over 4,000 signatures now. All done early doors @Vista. We all pay enough this is just another tax on people and local businesses. 👎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted April 2 Author Report Share Posted April 2 On 31/03/2024 at 20:18, Vista Estate said: All done early doors @Vista. We all pay enough this is just another tax on people and local businesses. 👎 The numbers I obtained from the Joint Committee that oversee it on behalf of the two owning Councils shows that it sucks almost 3.5 million a year out of the local economy of my town and the immediate surrounding villages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted April 22 Author Report Share Posted April 22 My MP will be presenting this petition in the Commons tomorrow evening. Thousands have signed now, anyone else prepared to help me by signing this? https://www.southeastcornwallconservatives.com/campaigns/petition-no-increase-tamar-toll-2024 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Knight Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 Good luck Vista 👆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted April 24 Author Report Share Posted April 24 Local news report and clip of the petition being presented 20240423_213722.mp4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Knight Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 That’s really positive it’s now being presented. Hopefully the folk at the top will take this seriously, someone is making a lot of money. The local guy is right, it’s always the local people and local economy that suffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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