More boats ignore tolls on Norfolk and Suffolk Broads

A percentage of navigators in a stretch of river roads does not have tolls that pay the legs, according to an authority.

In 2024, the Broads authority gave 1,708 notices to boat owners in Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, which is approximately 14% of the 12,000 vessels that the river roads every year, according to the Local Democracy Reports Service.

Since the beginning of 2025, the Broads authority has increased its tolls by an average of 5.9% for most vessels.

Bill Housden, a superior officer of the authority who is responsible for raising the rates, said until a few years ago that he would only issue about 400 notices annually, but the problem “has been a spiral in recent years.”

The tolls increased for the boats in the river tracks as part of the annual review of the authority.

John Packman, executive director of the authority, said: “We have already had 6,000 people paying their tolls with great alacry, but others do not pay dishonestly.

“The high cost of that is assumed by everyone else.”

The authority said it was also working to address the growing number of remains of abandoned remains and vessels on the Broads.

Six ships have sunk in the Yare River in the first four months of 2025.

Daniel Thwaites, a member of the Broads authority committee, said many ships in poor condition “have probably not paid toll rates for years.”

The problem has been blamed for a “gifts” trend, where ships in poor condition have been given to people for free or sold to Bararate so that the owners avoid having to get rid of the subject, added the local service of democracy reports.

An boat amnesty scheme could be implemented at the end of this year to “cut the outbreak problem,” according to Rob Rogers, the Broads Authority Operations Director.