Freight

8.16 Those sections of the A14 and the railway which pass through the borough cater for high volumes of freight traffic between the east coast ports, Midlands and north of England. A consortium of local authorities, including the Borough Council, government offices, Regional Development Agencies and others, are currently promoting an east-west rail route which would provide direct links between East Anglia and the south-west of England.

8.17 The Borough Council supports the increased use of the railway line for freight while also recognising the need to improve passenger rail services. There may be opportunities in the borough to create direct rail access to the existing line from employment areas or from the A14. The Borough Council will seek to locate freight generators which can use rail at locations which can achieve direct access to the network. Where rail sidings already exist, they will be protected and promoted, providing such use does not result in an unacceptable environmental impact, or it can proved that they are operationally redundant.

8.18 In urban areas, particularly town centres, freight movement can add to congestion at certain times of the day.s In Bury St Edmunds a lorry routing strategy is in place which directs delivery vehicles along designated routes according to their destination. However, in the town centre there is often conflict between delivery vehicles and other users. In historic environments like Bury St Edmunds there can be added conflict. The Borough Council is aware of the key role which delivery vehicles play in maintaining the vitality and viability of a town centre but would also be receptive to solutions which can minimise the number of large delivery vehicles. Transhipment, the idea of using large commercial vehicles for the major part of a journey and smaller vehicles for local delivery and collection, could be one such solution.

8.19 Overnight parking and roadside services for lorries are important facilities which, if not provided in the right locations, can lead to environmental problems in town. In Bury St Edmunds a lorry park has been provided on Rougham Hill which is well used. The redevelopment of theCattle Market has resulted in the loss of an overnight lorry parking facility and will create a demand for additional facilities in the town. Additional overnight parking within the Borough is being investigated.

8.20 A Lorry Management Study has been completed for Haverhill. Further work commissioned by the borough and county councils identified a problem with overnight lorry parking in residential areas of the town. The Borough Council will seek to identify a site for overnight lorry parking in Haverhill near to the main road network and will implement associated lorry management measures to cut disturbance caused by lorries in residential areas.

POLICY T7: LORRY PARKING

In addition to policies elsewhere in this Plan, proposals for the provision of new lorry parking facilities or the extension of existing sites will be permitted only where there is convenient access from the main road network.