Archived decisions

Agenda Item 7

Report to the

Transport for South Hampshire Joint Committee

Date: 28 January 2009

Report by: Geoff Hobbs

tel: 01962 857440

email: [email protected]

Subject: Transport for South Hampshire Freight Strategy

Purpose of the Report

The purpose of the report is to summarise the key outcomes of the 12-week Freight Consultation and to seek authorisation for officers to revise the Transport for South Hampshire freight strategy in light of feedback received. It also seeks to set out a suggested way forward for addressing freight-related challenges at both the strategic and local levels.

Recommendations

1. That the results of the freight strategy consultation are noted, and officers authorised to amend the draft strategy to take account of feedback received, with a view to bringing a proposed final strategy to the next meeting for consideration.

2. That the remit of the Transport for South Hampshire Freight Forum is extended, to allow it to function as a sounding board and advisory group on strategic freight challenges.

3. That the setting up of a Freight Quality Partnership is endorsed.

Introduction

1. At its meeting on 8 January 2008 (Item 8) the Joint Committee authorised the establishment of a Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH) Freight Forum to lead on the development of a Freight Strategy covering the sub-region.

2. The Freight Forum developed a draft strategy and consultation questionnaire to allow wider stakeholder views to be obtained. At its July meeting (Item 12), the Joint Committee authorised officers to carry out the consultation, which ran between late July and late October 2008. This report outlines the key themes arising from the consultation and seeks authorisation to amend the draft strategy in the light of feedback received from consultees. It also seeks approval of an approach to taking forward freight-related challenges at both the strategic and operational levels.

Key outcomes of consultation

2. The 12-week joint public consultation on both the TfSH and Hampshire County draft freight strategies ran from 29 July to 31 October 2008. It was publicised via press releases and the websites of TfSH and the three local transport authorities. Details were sent to 392 organisations with an interest in the movement of freight, including all district, parish and town councils and Local Strategic Partnerships, the Highways Agency, Network Rail, Natural England, the ports, numerous freight and logistics operators, retail centre trade associations, all Chambers of Commerce and all Councillors of the three local transport authorities.

3. 66 responses to the joint consultation were received. Some were joint responses sent on behalf of multiple organisations. The majority of respondents were either parish or town councils, district councils, residents or community groups. Good response rates were received from business interest groups, the ports and rail freight operators. A generally low level of response came from logistics operators, hauliers and businesses, despite many of these being written to directly.

4. All but two of the respondents either welcomed the strategy or engaged in analysis or debate on the key issues and proposals in the document.

5. Consultees were asked to identify the key transport challenges affecting the freight sector. The most commonly cited challenges included problems due to congestion and a perceived need to provide additional highway capacity and additional rail capacity to meet future demand once the gauge enhancement work underway is complete. They also included, transport cost pressures, the need to improve the sustainability of freight, and the lack of investment available to support forecast growth in freight. Several respondents recognised the long lead in times for major scheme investment, and highlighted the importance of commencing scheme development and preparation work now. There was strong support for enhancement of capacity and improved journey time reliability on the M27, M3 and A34 corridors, which serve international gateways.

6. Respondents suggested a number of freight issues that public sector transport delivery bodies should be focussing on:

(i) supporting development of new rail freight facilities and terminals;

(ii) better management and investment in strategic highway network;

(iii) establishing better understanding of needs of operators/ industry through closer dialogue;

(iv) better management of freight deliveries;

(v) mitigation of adverse impacts of Heavy Goods Vehicles - noise/air quality.

7. 93 per cent of respondents felt that national and local policy and investment decisions needed to show more consideration to and recognition of the key role played by the freight sector in supporting economic competitiveness. It was suggested there needed to be greater balance between support for public transport and measures to help freight supply chains. It was felt by some respondents that TfSH needed to take a stronger lead in lobbying central government for more investment in rail & identifying priorities for investment. Some respondents suggested that local planning authorities need to ensure that their Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) allocate sufficient land for warehousing and distribution.

8. 100 per cent of respondents expressed their support for getting more port-generated freight on rail or by short sea shipping to the midlands and the north rather than by road and 95 per cent expressed support for safeguarding rail and water connected sites and lorry parks through the planning system. On the subject of converting bus lanes in some circumstances to "no car" lanes, opinion was divided.

9. On lorry parking facilities , of those who answered the question, 89 per cent of respondents felt that there was a need for a strategic lorry parking facility located somewhere along the M27 corridor.

10. Respondents suggested that the following amendments be made to the draft TfSH freight strategy:

(i) need to give more consideration to climate change, environmental and biodiversity impacts of freight;

(ii) need to give details of pipeline network and significance of air freight;

(iii) need to provide more details of locations of wharves;

(iv) needs to emphasise importance of cross-channel roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) freight via Portsmouth and explain relevance of European Union initiatives such as Motorways of the Sea;

(v) action plan is too aspirational and there is a need for the action plan to be focussed on what TfSH can achieve and deliver;

(vi) need to improve cross-boundary working with neighbouring Local Transport Authorities on freight issues;

(vii) need for reference to the Strategic Rail Freight Network identified by Network Rail, as this is relevant to port container traffic.

The suggested way forward

17. At the 18 November meeting of the TfSH Freight Forum the question of how TfSH could effectively engage with and take into account freight interests was considered. The stakeholders present supported the idea of the group evolving into a strategic freight forum (with a combined Hampshire and TfSH geographical remit), to meet twice annually, formally reporting to the TfSH Strategy Group. The purpose and remit of such a Strategic Freight Forum could be:

(i) giving a voice to the freight sector;

(ii) acting as a promoter of transport interventions to improve access to and enhance the economic competitiveness of the TfSH sub-region (and other parts of Hampshire including the Basingstoke Growth Point); and

(iii) operating as a consultative group for TfSH and the County Council in the development and revision of policies affecting freight and providing advice on investment priorities for freight.

18. Stakeholders felt that more localised freight issues would be best addressed by some form of Freight Quality Partnership (FQP), to complement the strategic perspective of the proposed Strategic Freight Forum.

19. Members are asked to endorse the revision of the draft strategy by officers to address the points identified by respondents to the consultation summarised above, authorise the extension of the remit of the Forum to provide a strategic advisory and consultative role, and authorise officers to investigate establishing a Freight Quality Partnership to address more operational freight matters.

1882Rpt/GH