The general manager at Tamar Crossings has retired after 27 years at the helm.

David List’s retirement marks the end of an era for the management of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint ferries which see 18 million vehicles cross the river Tamar each year.

In the 27 years leading the organisation, David has overseen the groundbreaking strengthening and widening scheme on the Tamar Bridge, the multi-million-pound Torpoint Ferry replacement programme, as well as the launch of the Visitor and Learning Centre.

Past and present members of staff from Tamar Crossings, the Joint Committee, and Plymouth and Cornwall Councils joined representatives of the numerous organisations and companies who have worked with David during the past 27 years for a special farewell event held at the Tamar Bridge on Thursday December 12.

David was presented with two special gifts from staff at Tamar Crossings – a coat rack made from one of the bolts from the Tamar Bridge and one of the links from a ferry chain.

Representing the Joint Committee which oversees the running of the crossings, Joint Chair Martin Worth paid tribute to David’s many achievements, thanking him for his ‘wonderful years of service’.

David joined the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry as the new bridge and ferry manager in June 1997 after working abroad in Hong Kong for a number of years. Ask David what he is most proud of achieving in his time at Tamar Crossings and his answer was surprising. It is not the many major engineering achievements or the fact that both the bridge and ferries operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of the weather conditions.  

For David the most satisfying thing he feels that he has achieved has been to build a really strong team of people, and generate a very open, positive and engaged organisational culture.  

He said: “Tamar Crossings has been a huge part of my life. Our Bridge may not be the most impressive in modern terms, but it does its job very well with relatively low maintenance. The ferries are unique and the biggest chain ferries in the world.

“This is the longest I have worked for the one employer and I have got very attached to the team and the amazing structure and vessels I have been in charge of for the past 27 years.”

Readily admitting that the thing he will miss the most is the people – both the staff he has worked with and councillors and officers on the Joint Committee and from the two parent authorities - David says he is looking forward to having more time to pursue his many interests. He is also planning to make regular visits to the Cayman Islands where both of his children currently live and work.

David adds: “While I will no longer be crossing the bridge to get to work, or working next to an iconic bridge or a ferry crossing the river, Tamar Crossings is in my blood now and I will always look back with fondness and pride on what we have achieved.”