Michael Stevens, of Orchard Terrace, Lower Contour Road, Kingswear, writes:

I note that the threat to

the Dartmouth-Kingswear ­passenger ferry winter service is coming up again when you reported last week that the County Council is to end its subsidy, Chronicle, August 14.

While Devon County Council’s annual contribution was a modest £3,750, the district council’s subsidy is a much larger £25,000. Now we may face the bigger problem of ­persuading the district council to continue its support during the winter months.

When this matter came up last winter, the argument was that foot passengers could use the lower car ferry instead. This is not a problem in the summer, so long as it is not raining, but nearly impossible in the winter, as the car ferry offers pedestrians no protection from the ­winter weather, which can be bitterly cold, windy and wet. Remember last winter?

I believe that most residents of Kingswear, a high proportion of whom are elderly, would not venture across to Dartmouth if it meant travelling on the open car ferry – and this is confirmed by the people I have asked.

The loss of the passenger ferry would deter Kingswear residents from attending events at The Flavel, most of which are in the evening, as well as other social events that Kingswear residents take part in.

I wrote to South Hams Council last February to ask that those councillors who intended to vote on the matter should ride on the car ferry in the winter to experience what they are expecting the people of Kingswear to do. I wonder how many did.

I have no doubt that the car and passenger ferries both lose money during the winter evenings, and I suspect that the South Hams Council-owned lower car ferry loses more than the passenger ferry. So the ­sensible thing would be to cut the car ferry after 7pm during the winter and continue with the passenger ferry.

Kingswear residents who wish to cross the river by car can easily drive to the higher ferry, which has plenty of spare capacity.

We do not need two car ­ferries and no passenger ferry – one of each is better.