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The North-East Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and freight

11th October 2007
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Page 51, 11th October 2007 — The North-East Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and freight
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The North-East Regional Spatial Strategy (see panel below) included a freight strategy devised by local operators and representatives of the ETA and RHA."It was a very valuable exercise. Planners don't always have a clear understanding of the demands on industry," says David Marshall, North-East Assembly (NEA) transport manager.

Although the first RSS is still being passed by government, the NEA is already assessing what it can improve on. "There were a few weaknesses in our freight strategy" says Marshall ."We didn't detail what needs to be done to ensure the industry has people with the right skills, from driver to manager. And we need to be much more multimodal.

-The other area we desperately need a policy awareness for is secure truck parksidentifying sites close to the trunk network,with minimal environmental concern, where security can be provided."

Marshall thinks the area has a few key challenges. "Mostly they surround improvements to the Highways Agency network, particularly on the A66 and A69. Some of the roundabouts need grade separations east of Newcastle on the Al 9.11is will become very important when the second Tyne Tunnel is completed otherwise there will be a high-capacity link over the river and the congestion will all move to the junctions either side of the ihnnel."

The NEA supports Teesport's £300m Northern Gateway project to develop a deep sea port for container traffic.The government response to the RSS diluted the NEA's position on this and it has responded by reaffirming the crucial role it thinks Teesport could play.

The Port of Tyne also needs freight improvement."The Boldon East Curve, a section of rail which connects the port with track going east and south, would aid coal freight," says Marshall.

On top of this the NEA is part-funding a study into the development of certain sites along the Middlesbrough trunk roads so developers can know in advance what planners will require of them to ease the congestion they may cause. The North-East Assembly (NEA) covers County Durham,Tyne and Wear, N orthumberland and Teesside -everything between Cumbria to the West, Scotland to the North and Yorkshire to the South.

The area has undergone large-scale regeneration in the last decade, and with local councils having greater powers to decide transport policy and implement road building, the North-East has seen £457m of government money poured into its transport strategy. But after years of under-investment in roads there is still much to be done, and battles rage over the needs of the freight industry.

llere we focus a little more closely on who is deciding policy in the area and whether their decisions will be good for road transport.

Specific road schemes

Al North of Newcastle

The Regional Assembly has not made the Al north of Newcastle a priority because it feels it should be funded as a national project, arguing that this is the major road between England and Scotland and a huge project.The DfT disagrees, saying it is a regional road and can therefore be paid for out of regional money.As a result the Al is still single carriageway between Newcastle and Edinburgh despite the best efforts of local planners.

Both Geoff Dunning of the RHA and Malcolm Bingham of the ETA agree that most traffic to Edinburgh takes the M74/M6 route and relies more on the cross-Pennine A66 and A69 (see following page). "It is hard tojustify spending money on the Al when much of the 1110. strategic transport would go from the central production areas around Glasgow and Edinburgh into and out of Teesport via Carlisle," says Bingham. "The A74 to Gretna is being upgraded to full motorway and I think that shows where Scottish road priorities lie."

Newcastle City Council

'the Tyne and Wear Authority is using technology to fight inner-city congestion. But while the area is looking at demand management within its People In Motion agenda, road pricing is still a long way off, says Marshall. Instead, the authority is focusing on recommended routes, revising its parking policies and using new technologies to manage traffic.

A66 and A69

The cross-Pennine routes are receiving attention, but there are snags.The A66, which takes the bulk of freight transport,crosses three regions, the North-East. North-West and North Yorkshire. While some parts are being turned into dual carrriageway in the NorthEast and North-West, regional allocation of funds means the road will not be looked at in its entirety and those areas that remain single carriageway will probably not prove to be high priority for any of the regions. This is despite the road being a strategic route from the North-East to North-West and into Scotland.

The A66 was selected by the DfT for dual carriageway years ago because of its horrendous fatality rate.

The A69 was designated a Trans European Network (TENS) route by the European Union one of the strategic European connections, which makes it eligible for EU funding. Unfortunately there is little actual EU money to go round. Regionally the A69 takes far less traffic than the A66.

The Gateshead Western Bypass

A notorious pinch-point, the bypass was designed to take traffic out of Gateshead centre. However, it was subsequently made the Al and became a strategic route. It takes heavy amounts of local traffic; Bingham says this inhibits strategic goods transport.Various local attempts to discourage car use are in place, but Dunning says. some road building solution will be needed eventually.

Teesport

PD Ports has invested heavily to develop Teesport into a deep sea container port and is working hard to attract shipping companies and local business such as Nissan. However, further infrastructural development will be needed on road and rail to achieve its potential.Specificallygauge improvements are needed to allow rail flatbeds carrying two boxes. Currently the track and a problematic tunnel at Yarm restrict operators to low-slung wagons with a single box. Network Rail is also looking at boosting East Coast line capacity.

Middlesbrough transport unit

A parking spokesman at Middlesbrough Council says the town takes a pragmatic and freight-friendly view."If you need to deliver somewhere where there isn't a specified loading area contact us, and the vehicle's details will be distributed to the team so that the driver doesn't get stopped -as long as it is only for loading and unloading."

Teesside is very short of truckstops, however.The one council park outside Middlesbrough centre hasjust 12 spaces and no toilet facilities or cafe. •


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