Sinclair Knight Merz was commissioned by Essex County Council to carry out a sustainable distribution strategy. This involved close examination of the country’s existing freight patterns and forecasting road and rail freight to 2020.
The key freight generators were identified and mapped as were current and potential freight terminals. All of the information collected, provided us with a realistic view of the county and its distribution patterns.
This project included extensive consultation. Fifty face to face interviews were carried out with operators, rail freight operating companies, environmental groups and other interested stakeholders. Two seminars were held to seek input into the issues identified and the different strategies. The document was also sent out to over 800 interested parties for comment before it was finalised. It has now been issued on their website at http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/esd/travel/highways/publications/Freight.pdf.
We devised a number of strategies and advised ono their potential impact on the county. These strategies were presented in a way that showed the level of intervention required from both the County Council and from operators. At the final seminar, delegates were asked to vote for the strategies they considered to be most appropriate and this indicated the level of intervention from the County Council that they expected.
Examples of the proposed strategies include:
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Maintain and enhance the highway network
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Create Essex Freight Forum
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Support enhanced route and interchange capacity for alternative modes