Freight and logistics planning consultation launched

By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters

The long overdue consultation is seeking evidence from among the more than 200,000 enterprises associated with the sector from 3PLs and developers to local authorities and trade bodies in the context of a wider government focus on the planning system in England contained in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill currently progressing through Parliament.

According to the launch guide the government acknowledges that: “Supply chains rely upon multiple modes of freight transport along road, rail, air, and maritime routes with transfers between and within modes at ports, airports, rail freight interchanges and at distribution centres and warehouses where freight is disaggregated or consolidated.

“All of these transfer points require the right infrastructure in the right place for the system as a whole to function effectively.”

The call for evidence stems out of the government’s recent collaborative Future of Freight collaborative report which set out a long-term vision for a sector that is cost-efficient, reliable, resilient, environmentally sustainable and valued by society.

The future of national planning policy, within the levelling up bill, will be an opportunity to consider how plans and decisions can work to better deliver desired outcomes for the freight and logistics sector.

The information gathered through this call for evidence is primarily intended to provide support for future changes to the planning system. This could include: changes to national planning policy, the development of national development management policies any associated changes required to the practice guidance.

It may also be used to inform government thinking on the role of the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime.

The government is particularly keen as it sees the sector as a direct means to meet its long promised levelling up goals as  the sector is a ‘geographically distributed employer’ and is ‘well placed to support growing and levelling up the economy with significant cross-border freight flows, strengthening the Union’.

In addition, it said: “The sector is a facilitator for UK imports, exports and access to global markets, making it central to strengthening the UK’s global impact. Supporting the sector to achieve net zero carbon emissions, through fleet and technological changes, provision of energy infrastructure and facilitating changes to distribution models will also be central to achieving the government’s net zero ambitions.

"Critically, the FoF committed government to publish this call for evidence to better understand the practical issues in planning for the right infrastructure to best support the freight and logistics sector, and to help us build a comprehensive picture of where the planning system can appropriately support the sector, including understanding: what is working well; what could work better and how the government can promote best practice.”