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The future freight needs of Kent have been summed up in an independent report and handed to Kent County Council (KCC) to drive forward following the closure of the Channel Corridor Partnership (CCP) tomorrow. As reported in MT last week, CCP, along with the Calais Chamber of Commerce & Industry, commissioned MDS Transmodal to produce a State of Freight report covering the short-sea Dover Straits routes between Kent and the Nord-Pas de Calais (NPDC). According to the report, Eurotunnel and  ferry companies operating on the Channel Corridor handle about 50% of all unitised freight between the UK and the Continent. Between 2001 and 2005 traffic increased by 12%, but forecasts show that traffic is set to increase by 85% between 2005 and 2030. This will result in an increase of freight traffic along the corridor from 3.8 million truck movements in 2005 to 7.1 million in 2030.

Ferry operators are increasing their capacity in the short to medium term and the ports of Dover and Calais are following suit. However, other strategies are required to address both current and future issues that will arise as a result of the rise in freight traffic. CCP, which is being wound down after four years because its funding has come to an end, handed over the findings to KCC at a summit last week. Speaking to MT, KCC principal projects officer Stephen Dukes says: "With CCP closing we will now pick up some of the issues identified in the report." The key issue to be resolved is the lack  of capacity for lorry parking in both the Calais area and in Kent. A further 1,000 spaces are likely to be required around Calais, even after ongoing investment by the ports and the private sector. And an extra 970 spaces will be needed in Kent by 2009, increasing to 1,060 spaces in 2014 and 1,300 spaces by 2024.

The report states that some or all of the parking facilities should be multipurpose providing secure overnight parking for use during Operation Stack, as well as acting as a buffer zone for the Port of Dover. Dukes agrees: "Any new lorry park needs to be multifunctional. We're keen to talk to [government agencies] about using the parks for vehicle inspections." Earlier this month, KCC revealed its preferred location for a lorry park near the M20 in Aldington. At last week's summit, KCC's cabinet member for highways Keith Ferrin pledged to announce a second lorry park site over the next couple of months with a possible third site also under consideration. According to Peter Cullum, head of international affairs at the RHA, one proposed site will be on the A2/M2 corridor with the other somewhere on the M25 corridor.

"We're pleased that the report highlighted the need for lorry parks and that KCC is taking this seriously. But any new lorry park is three years away from reality because of planning permission and funding," says Cullum. However, the report addresses the issue of funding by recommending that the port/terminal operators should be prepared to make a contribution (relative to the benefit they receive) to the development of lorry parking facilities. It also suggests a small charge could be levied on each truck coming through a Kent port or via Eurotunnel, giving the haulier the right to secure overnight parking, with all other services such as food and showers being at an additional cost. A charge equivalent to 10% of the Port of Dover's toll, when applied to LGVs passing through Kent ports and on the Eurotunnel Shuttle, would be sufficient to fund about €45m (£35m) of development costs.

The RHA is also pleased that the report identified that while rail and air freight have a role to play in easing congestion, its potential to remove LGVs from the Channel Corridor is limited. The report states that while these alternative distribution services are likely to help reduce the traffic growth rate on the Channel Corridor, they wouldn't reduce the volumes of HGVs in absolute terms. Road pricing would be the main policy measure that could assist a shift to alternative modes, but any conceivable scheme would, again, only help to reduce the traffic growth rate. The report suggests that as many of the issues are common to both France and England, joint working between agencies in both countries would allow integrated approaches to be developed for common problems. At the summit, KCC promised to deliver its own freight strategy within 12 months as well as the creation of a freight forum involving industry associations and haulage firms.

A report commissioned by Royal & SunAlliance claims the UK could cut 12% of its domestic freight carbon emissions in a decade - a reduction of 1.2 million tonnes of carbon - by shifting large quantities of goods from road to water and rail. The survey, A vision of UK freight trends towards 2018 and beyond, by consultancy Sea & Water, recommends investment in sea ports to enable greater use of coastal waterways. It calls for a number of strategic inland ports to be developed and suggests that Regional Development Agencies could help identify these sites. The survey adds that by 2018, road haulage could fall by 22%, accounting for half of total domestic freight, if there was greater investment in infrastructure. This could boost water freight by 33% and rail by 75%. The report says that although the UK is not in a position to make an overnight logistical switch, more than 50 smaller ports could take feeder freight services from major ports.