Closing the Infrastructure Gap in Rural and Coastal Communities

Accessing essential services like healthcare or going to school and work, should be simple. Services should be close to home and public transport should be readily available for residents to get to where they need to go. Yet, in rural communities that isn’t always the case. Living in a rural area, we have more space, which also means we often must travel further to get to where we need to be and with less people than urban areas, there’s reduced demand for public transport.

However, for some rural and coastal communities like South East Cornwall, we face extra barriers. Bordering Devon, with Plymouth just across the river Tamar, our rural area is relatively close to an urban area. Results from my services survey revealed that 82% of local residents are dependent on crossing into Plymouth to access secondary healthcare and other essential services.

Moreover, the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferries add to these complexities. Around 16 million vehicle crossings take place each year, with thousands of residents relying on them daily to reach work, education, healthcare, and more. The Torpoint Ferry is the busiest vehicle crossing of an estuary in the United Kingdom, carrying nearly 2 million vehicles each year.

Both incur a cost to use them – a toll. I know things cost money to build and maintain but the tolls act as another barrier that my communities face, impacting people accessing the services that they need.

Community organisations, local residents, previous MPs, local councillors and the Tamar Crossings, have been united in their work, pushing for improvements to our local transport network and there has been some good progress such as safety improvements on the A38.

Local residents are able to access a reduced rate toll through TamarTag pre-payment. Back in December the Joint Committee of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry proposed to increase the administrative charge for the TamarTag, from 80p to £2.00. I understand that everything comes at a cost, and some may argue that this administrative increase was not extreme. However, average incomes in South East Cornwall are around 20% below the national median and in an area with fragile seasonal employment, costs add up quickly when daily essentials lie on the other side of tolled crossings. That’s why the Joint Committee’s revision to its proposal was such an important win for local people. It came after strong public backlash and sustained pressure from myself and fellow local MPs. It means the Committee will now fully assess the impact of any increase and carry out a fresh search for savings.

All of this movement demonstrates clearly that we need to bridge the infrastructure gap. That’s why last week I secured an Adjournment Debate and called for the right financial support and necessary powers to be put in place.

It’s not just about the Crossings, but how these compound on the already significant lack of infrastructure in South East Cornwall. There is one rail line in and out of Cornwall, with a significant choke point at Dawlish, which in stormy conditions is pummelled by waves, often leaving the line with reduced or cancelled services.

These transport constraints carry real economic consequences. Businesses face higher operating costs and reduced labour pools. Tradespeople absorb toll charges competitors elsewhere do not face. Recruitment becomes harder, particularly for key workers. Inward investment decisions are influenced by connectivity, and tolled crossings are a deterrent. I have spoken with businesses in my area like Ginsters about how this is affecting them being able to scale up, which would create more jobs and unlock economic growth for the area.

This is not just an issue that affects South East Cornwall, but those in rural and coastal areas across the country. I know that Labour is addressing the needs of these communities through the Fair Funding Review and between MPs such as in the Labour Rural Research Group, of which I am a member, and it’s doing fantastic work to elevate the voices of communities like mine. We are making good progress to address these issues, and I will continue to call for barriers in rural and coastal areas to be sufficiently addressed.