Aggregate Wharves and Rail Depots in South East England FINAL REPORT Prepared for SEERA by MDS Transmodal Limited Date: March 2007 Ref: 207026r_final CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Policy Background 3. Rail Depots in Study Area Mineral Planning Authorities 4. Wharves in Study Area Mineral Planning Authorities 5. Analysis of Aggregate Flows to South East Region and London 6. Aggregate Forecasts and Key Future Issues 7. Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix 1: Rail Terminal Inventory Appendix 2: Wharf Inventory Appendix 3: Potential New Rail Depot Locations Appendix 4: Kent Aggregates Imports Study Appendix 5: West Sussex Wharves and Railheads Study Appendix 6: Maps of Active and Inactive Wharfs and Rail Depot Locations Addendum to Appendix 2: Wharf Inventory The South East England Regional Assembly (the client) has amended parts of this report following advice from the South East England Regional Aggregates Working Party (SEERAWP). Amended texts have been underlined with supporting notes where relevant. Appendix 6 (Maps of Active and Inactive Wharfs and Rail Depot Locations) and an addendum to Appendix 2 (Wharf Inventory) have been added to the report. Aggregate Wharves and Rail Depots in SE England Page 1 1. INTRODUCTION The South East region is heavily dependent on imports of sand, gravel and crushed rock from other UK regions and from continental sources. The South East Plan Examination in Public (EiP) recognised the importance of wharves and rail terminals for delivering and distributing aggregates in the region. More specifically, the EiP Panel Report (2004) recommended (Recommendation R12.9) that Mineral Planning Authorities (MPAs) should assess the need for wharf and rail facilities and identify strategic sites for safeguarding in their Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). Kent, Medway and West Sussex MPAs have undertaken such assessments independently (Kent Aggregates Imports and West Sussex Wharves and Railheads studies respectively). The remainder of the region is being assessed through this study, which was commissioned by the South East England Regional Assembly (the Assembly). The aim of the study is threefold: • To establish existing and potential capacity of active and inactive wharves and rail terminals in the South East England Region and identify any significant constraints on that capacity; • To identify current and proposed wharves and terminals that are safeguarded in Local Development Documents; • Recommend strategic sites that warrant safeguarding. MDS Transmodal Ltd were appointed April 2007 to undertake the study on behalf of the Assembly. In addition to addressing the above mentioned aims, the study conclusions will also be used to inform any future Regional Logistics Strategy and future reviews of the South East Plan. This report contains our conclusions with regards to the aims and objectives of the study. It is broadly structured as follows: • A review of relevant policy documents (Section 2); • An inventory of existing and potential rail served aggregate depots in the South East Region. Briefly, this identifies all existing, redundant and mothballed rail served depots together with associated information such as length of sidings, depot size and annual capacity (Section 3 and Appendix 1); • An inventory of existing and potential aggregate wharves in the South East Region. Again this identifies all existing aggregate wharves and other facilities which have the potential to handle aggregates (Section 4 and Appendix 2); • An analysis of existing aggregate flows into the South East Region (Section 5); • Forecasts of likely future aggregate flows into the South East Region together with other key issues (Section 6); and • Conclusions from the above analysis, and recommendations with regards to future depot/wharf capacity in the region (Section 7). Printed on 24/06/11 10:22 Our Ref: study of aggregate wharves and rail depots in south east england Aggregate Wharves and Rail Depots in SE England Page 2 As stated above, similar studies have been conducted for Kent, Medway and West Sussex MPAs. The ‘Study Area’ is therefore the remaining MPAs in the South East Region (Government Office region); namely: • East Sussex County Council; • Brighton and Hove City Council; • Surrey County Council; • Oxfordshire County Council; • The Berkshire Unitary Authorities (The authorities of Bracknell Forest, Slough, Reading, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and Wokingham, working together as the Joint Strategic Planning Unit, produce a joint Minerals Plan for the county of Berkshire, though each authority remains the MPA for their respective area); • Buckinghamshire County Council; • Milton Keynes Council; • Hampshire County Council; • Portsmouth City Council; • Southampton City Council; • New Forest National Park; and • Isle of Wight Council. Consequently, references throughout this report to the 'South East' refer to the Government Office Region (above MPAs plus Kent, Medway and West Sussex) unless otherwise stated. At various other stages of the document, references are also made to the ‘Greater South East’, and this should be taken to mean a combined South East Region and London. Where relevant, summaries of the findings from the Kent/Medway and West Sussex studies have been included in this report document. Appendices 4 and 5 to this report contains the full Kent/Medway and West Sussex reports respectively. Printed on 24/06/11 10:22 Our Ref: study of aggregate wharves and rail depots in south east england Aggregate Wharves and Rail Depots in SE England Page 3 2. POLICY BACKGROUND 2.1 The Future of Transport Published by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July 2004, The Future of Transport White Paper set out a long-term strategy for a modern, efficient and sustainable transport system backed up by sustained high levels of investment. The White Paper looks at the factors that will shape travel and transport over the next thirty years and sets out how the Government will respond to the increasing demand for travel, maximising the benefits of transport while minimising the negative impact on people and the environment. The document superseded the New Deal for Transport White Paper published in 1998. Beyond general broad support for 'modal shift' i.e. support for rail freight, there is little in the document directly concerning the location of freight generating activity. The Government will continue to encourage freight traffic to be shifted from road to rail and short sea/coastal shipping where feasible, and where appropriate, financial support will be offered e.g. Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) schemes. The document states that sustainable freight transport should focus on approaches which offer the best outcomes for our economy, society and the environment. 2.2 Sustainable Distribution, A Strategy Sustainable Distribution, A Strategy (1999) was one of the 'daughter' papers to the New Deal for Transport White Paper, and it remains official national policy with regards to sustainable distribution. It describes the Government strategy to secure the sustainable distribution of freight in the United Kingdom. The key points include: • Specific measures to promote sustainable transport of goods, generally through fiscal measures, • Greater emphasis on planning for freight distribution at both regional and local levels and revised planning guidance to encourage the shipment of more goods by rail and waterborne transport. • Encouraging the use of rail freight by providing incentives through grant schemes such as FFG and by setting up the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), which had a duty to promote rail freight until its abolition in 2006. • Encourage the use of waterborne freight, particularly by extending the FFG scheme to coastal and short sea shipping. Chapter 5 of the Paper deals specifically with planning and its role in promoting sustainable distribution. Again the Paper states that it is the Government's intention to issue revised planning guidance to support an integrated transport policy. The purpose of this is to: • Encourage more freight to be carried by rail. Local authorities in preparing development plans will be expected to consider, and where appropriate protect, opportunities for rail connection to existing manufacturing, distribution and Printed on 24/06/11 10:22 Our Ref: study of aggregate wharves and rail depots in south east england Aggregate Wharves and Rail Depots in SE England Page 4 warehousing sites and allocate new sites for suitable new developments which can be served by rail; and • Encourage local authorities through their development plans to give better protection to those sites and routes (both existing and potential) which could be critical in developing infrastructure to widen transport choices, such as interchange facilities allowing road to rail transfer (Para 5.2). 2.3 Delivering a Sustainable Railway – White Paper As a consequence of the changes to the railway industry resulting from the Railways Act 2005, the SRA's 2001 Rail Freight Strategy ceased to be the Government's official rail freight policy. The Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) subsequently made a statement to Parliament in July 2005, re-stating the Government’s objectives for rail freight. However, this was effectively a 'holding position' pending the publication of future policy documents. This subsequently happened in July 2007 with the publication of the Delivering a Sustainable Railway White Paper. This White Paper represents the Government’s long-term policy for the development of the rail