Tolled Crossings and Regional Connectivity

Noah Law Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Anna Gelderd]

I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. This interaction between defence, regional connectivity, transport and what we are looking to achieve down in the south-west really needs cross-governmental consideration.

This goes beyond defence, with Cornwall reviving its mining heritage through the development of critical minerals, recognised through Labour’s Kernow industrial growth fund, supporting cleaner energy supplies and economic independence, and backing British business. Cornwall also has major international cultural and tourism value, from our historic landscapes and mythical legends to world-leading attractions, such as the Eden Project. Our food culture, from cream teas to Cornish pasties, has global appeal—something I have seen at first hand.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank my hon. Friend for giving way on Cornwall’s economic potential and particularly the role of critical minerals. Does she agree that in an ideal but not unimaginable world, we would have electric ferries, ideally powered by Cornish lithium batteries, which would reduce the operating costs of those ferries and therefore the subsidy effectively paid by Tamar bridge users to support that service?

[Anna Gelderd]

My hon. Friend’s intervention goes to the heart of this question: how do we move communities like ours into the future, taking advantage of cleaner, greener and cheaper sources of energy, and bringing down costs for local residents?

The Plymouth defence deal presents a real opportunity. The tolled crossings are enabling infrastructure and backing resilience. Addressing them alongside defence investment aligns local fairness with our national priorities. Such strengths deserve an infrastructure that enables growth, rather than one that holds it back.

Cornwall is modernising, our economy is evolving and our ambitions are forward-looking. That brings me to my first three points, which are focused on improving fairness and future-proofing the Tamar crossings. First, we need to devolve the necessary powers. Current legislation limits the ability of local authorities to reform tolling structures in line with modern use. Devolving those powers would enable local decisions aligned with our national objectives. Secondly, we need grant funding to support long-term reform. Removing or reducing tolls without replacement revenue risks shifting the burden on to local authorities and council tax payers. Grant funding would recognise the national benefit and avoid unintended consequences. Thirdly, we need debt relief linked to historical financing. Existing debt structures drive continued reliance on toll income and restrict future options. Addressing this legacy debt would allow the crossings to come into the 21st century.

On the wider picture of unlocking our potential, my fourth point is on safety and resilience of the A38. This is the main road through South East Cornwall. With continued action and investment following recent safety upgrades, we can ensure that the route is even more resilient. Fifthly, we must strengthen rail resilience and access through Dawlish. Cornwall’s rail connectivity depends on that single, climate-vulnerable line. To ensure regional growth, we need a strategic rail plan and phase 6 of the Dawlish resilience programme. Finally, we must improve digital connectivity across South East Cornwall. Reliable, high-quality broadband and mobile coverage are needed throughout the area.

Together, the measures I suggest provide a credible route towards resolving a long-standing issue. I urge the Minister to engage with myself and with neighbouring colleagues, many of whom are here today, to recognise the role that the Tamar crossings play in regional connectivity in terms of national defence, food production and regional economic growth, and to work with local partners to deliver fair and modern reform. With those powers held locally, fair funding and a long-term vision, we can move at pace to fulfil the potential that we see through the infrastructure that we, on both sides of the Tamar, rely on day by day.

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[Noah Law]

The hon. Member makes an important point about the lack of National Highways funding for the bridge, but does he share my delight at the £220 million investment coming into Cornwall’s roads from national Government? We are seeing record-breaking investment in our roads, but that is not to detract from the point he makes about the lack of funding for the Tamar bridge.

[Ben Maguire]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and hopefully he and I can make the argument to the Minister and her colleagues that some of that money should go to the Tamar bridge.

There are certainly other road projects across Cornwall. The hon. Member for South East Cornwall spoke passionately about the A38, which my constituents frequently raise with me, and hopefully that is another project that can be funded from the large amount of money we are hearing is coming to Cornwall’s road network. There are also much-needed safety upgrades at Plusha in my constituency. I have met the Minister on numerous occasions, so I know she is aware of the upgrades to the Camelford relief road, which have been promised for many years.

As I have mentioned, I really hope that a devolution deal will now be forthcoming in which we see the equivalent of the Cornish proportion of the strategic road network, which is around £96 million a year. This evening, we have talked about making the Tamar toll crossing cheaper for local residents, or potentially removing the toll altogether at a cost of around £15 million a year. In their devolution deals, our Celtic cousins enjoy a budget equivalent to the amount of the road network they have in their nations, and that would leave plenty of money left over for the A30 upgrade that the hon. Member for South East Cornwall mentioned, and for lots of other upgrades across Cornwall.

--- Later in debate ---

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

I want to make a few short points to expand on a couple of things that have been mentioned. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Anna Gelderd) for securing this important debate.

As I have said to several Members, particularly from this part of the world, we are currently closer to Middlesbrough than to my constituency in Camborne. Indeed, when people in this country think about the south-west, they think of Bristol, which is closer to Manchester than to my constituency. That gives an idea of the scale of where we are.

When it comes to the important question of regional connectivity, I gently say to the Minister that, over the last 18 months, the Government have invested over £100 million in Cornish metals, Cornish lithium and, as we have heard, the Kernow industrial growth fund. To maximise the potential of that investment, it is essential that we have the transport infrastructure to support it, including in the Tamar crossing.

[Noah Law]

If we are taking a local growth approach, which I know is so important to our Government, surely a deal for the Tamar must be a crucial part of any devolution arrangement.

[Perran Moon]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Tamar bridge should form part of our needed package of transport support, including mainline rail, upgrades to the A30 and, importantly, a complete review of the funding model for our one regional airport at Newquay, which needs to be considered in the round.

My hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall spoke about car ownership in Cornwall. One of the gross distortions of the Westminster funding modelling is that we look at car ownership as an indicator of affluence. In Cornwall, it is quite the opposite. Our public transport systems are so poor that we have one of the highest car ownership rates in the country per capita. The reason is that many people in large swathes of Cornwall—particularly young people who need to get to college, or who need to develop the skills to work in some of the organisations I have mentioned—are completely housebound and isolated if they do not own a car. As my hon. Friend mentioned, it also contributes to the real problems of loneliness and lack of access to social groups, which is important for people’s mental health.

There are wide-ranging issues with the lack of connectivity across Cornwall. That is why it is so important, as the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) mentioned, that our devolution arrangement considers the implications of our remote coastal geography for business development, for young people and the skills they need, and for the social aspect as our population ages and more young people sadly leave Cornwall because they cannot find work, particularly driven by our acute housing crisis. We need a holistic strategy for the whole of Cornwall, and a very important part of that is the Tamar crossing.