Ferry firm plans to charge drivers to access beach

Tolls are currently only paid by Sandbanks Ferry users

A ferry firm has outlined plans for tolls on the access road to a popular beach.

Ferry Road, the only route through Studland peninsula in Dorset, is managed by the operator of Sandbanks Ferry.

The firm said it was applying to the government to introduce a £6.26 charge for drivers unless they used the chain ferry or paid to visit car parks.

It said it also needed to revise a 10-year ferry fare agreement set in 2021 due to high inflation, a tax rise and poor weather over two summers.

Ferry Road gives access to the four-mile-long (6km) beach at Studland

The firm said it had not yet decided how to reintroduce tolls on the section of road between Knoll Beach and Shell Bay.

Sandbanks Ferry said: "The company has no intention to move or build new toll boxes and will decide upon an appropriate method for collection once the toll is approved."

Ferry firm managing director Jason du Toit said a 30-minute grace period would allow for dropping off or collecting passengers.

He said the toll road would reduce the number of cars parked on the verges on Ferry Road, making the route safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

The current ferry, Bramble Bush Bay, entered service in 1994

In February, the firm said it wanted fares to rise by the CPI rate of inflation rather than to the fixed prices that were set in 2021.

In July, its revised government application proposed an immediate fare increase for cars from £5.30 to £6.26, with inflationary rises thereafter.

The firm, owned by Fairacres Group, declared a pre-tax profit of £906,141 in the year to March.

However, it said its ferry replacement reserve was insufficient and it could not pay dividends to shareholders.

The current vessel, Bramble Bush Bay, was introduced in 1994 and is due to be replaced in 2034.

The ferry saves motorists a 25-mile (40km) journey by road between Studland and Sandbanks.