East of England Region

Which is comprised of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire

Timetable

November 2001 Stakeholder Events
September 2002 Options Consultation Launch
5th February 2004 Extraordinary EERA Meeting [link to relevant minutes page]
27th February 2004 RPG 14 'banked' awaiting results of additional studies
5th November 2004 Extraordinary EERA Meeting
December 8th 2004 (14 week consultation to march 16th 2005) Draft East of England Plan Public Consultation
Mid March – mid May 2005 Panel analyses and considers all the representations received once the consultation is finished
End May 2005 Panel publishes and consults on (28 days) the draft list of the matters it proposes to consider at the EiP and the draft list of participants to be invited
June 2005 Panel invites participants in the EiP and other interested parties to submit written statements for its consideration and for circulation to all other participants (with a deadline of mid August)
Panel holds a ‘Preliminary Meeting’ to discuss issues arising from the draft list of matters and participants
By end July 2005 Panel publishes final list of matters and participants and a second Preliminary Meeting may be held at the Panel’s discretion
13 September to mid November 2005 EIP to be held at the Maltings Centre, Ely, Cambridgeshire
Early 2006 Panel publishes a report of its findings and recommends how the draft RSS could be improved. Government considers the Panel’s recommendations and publishes ‘proposed changes’ to the draft RSS.
Mid 2006 Government consults on the proposed changes
Late 2006 Government publishes final RSS
 

Regional Transport Strategy

Policy T1

Promote the carriage of freight by rail and water and encourage environmentally sensitive distribution.
 

Policy T3 Strategic freight interchange

Existing well located wharves and facilities for rail and water freight interchange should be safeguarded, and improved provision made in locations with good road and rail access to end users.
 

Supporting text

8.18
To support the RTS objective of promoting the carriage of freight by rail and water there is a need for interchange locations where transfer to and from rail and water can take place. Such interchange already takes place at all the major ports in the region, (ship to ship, ship to rail and ship to road). In accordance with national policy, local authorities should protect wharves, where appropriate, in local development documents. Only at Ely and Peterborough stations are there significant facilities for rail freight transfer... EERA will work with the SRA in the development of a regional planning assessment for the region, which, inter alia, will identify areas which need additional freight interchange capacity.

8.20
The movement of minerals lends itself to rail more than some commodities and the RTS supports the policy in relation to minerals (see policy ENV15, chapter 9 environmental resources) which encourages the use of rail, sea and inland waterway networks as a means of transport and safeguards facilities which are required. With waste, the phasing out of landfill together with greater emphasis on reducing waste and application of the proximity principle should reduce the demand for long distance transport. However, there may be new opportunities for moving recyclable materials and products (including by inland waterway).
 

Policy T4 Ports and water transport

Access to the region’s ports, particularly by rail and inland waterway, will be managed and enhanced to support development as it is approved and to enable the ports to contribute to national and regional objectives in relation to economic growth, regeneration and sustainable transport.

Supporting text
 
8.21
The region’s ports serve a key role in the transport network and in the national and regional economy. The RTS has the task of providing general support for meeting the transport needs of the ports and encouraging rail and water wherever possible.

8.22
Access to the ports has been an important component of the definition of the network hierarchy (see policy T6) and investment and management required to fulfill this role for the existing major ports (Felixstowe, Harwich, London Tilbury) and currently approved expansion has been identified in the overall investment priorities. Provision of adequate rail access to these ports and onwards to destinations across the country is critical to the achievement of targets for increasing rail freight. Because port traffic is such an important component of freight movement in the region and much is traveling long distances. The RTS has set the target of increasing the proportion of rail freight carried by rail by 2010 to 25% and 30% by 2020 (see appendix D). A number of priority schemes will improve access to the region’s main ports, but in particular the Haven Gateway to Nuneaton freight route (phase 1,2 and 3) and the proposed study of the A14 corridor.

Policy T6
Strategic network hierarchy
Investment in the strategic rail and road network will be focused on providing an inter-modal network as set out in map 8.2. In particular, this will require investment as set out in the proposal list in tables 8.3 A&B.