How effective are current Local and Central Government planning systems and planning officers in shaping the efficiency and environmental impacts of road freight and what future improvements may be needed, including to capability, to ensure the planning system supports road freight to contribute to meeting Government ambitions?
Background
The reducing environmental impacts strategic priority is in recognition that there is an environmental aspect to all transport, and therefore almost all the work of DfT. Transport is the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gases in the UK, contributing 27% of domestic emissions in 2019. Our transport system must change to deliver the government’s Net Zero ambition and DfT will drive forwards that change through our longer-term green transport agenda. On decarbonisation specifically, we published our Transport decarbonisation plan (TDP) in July 2021, which sets out the steps we will take to deliver the necessary carbon reductions across every form of transport. Sustainability will be at the heart of levelling-up. People everywhere will feel the benefits – villages, towns, cities, and countryside will be cleaner, greener, healthier and more prosperous and pleasant environments in which to live and work
Next steps
Get in touch with bridgetoresearch@dft.gov.uk
Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Related UKRI funded projects
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National Freight Model (Phase 2)
The UK Freight system is extensive comprising around 195,000 enterprises, 2.5 million employees, and contributing £121 billion gross value added (GVA) to the economy. In most places, LGVs and HGVs contribute ~30% o...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Why might this be relevant?
The project addresses the inefficiencies in the planning system related to road freight and provides a solution through a National Freight Model.
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London Freight Mapping and End User Solution
A considerable portion of congestion and pollution is linked to freight traffic on the UK’s roads and more particularly, to wasted or unnecessary mileage attributed to the lack of accurate road restriction information av...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on improving route planning and scheduling for freight traffic, which is a partial aspect of the overall question on planning system efficiency and environmental impacts of road freight.
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Freight Traffic Control 2050: transforming the energy demands of last-mile urban freight through collaborative logistics
CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH: Freight transport accounts for 16% of all motorised road vehicle activity in British towns and cities and is therefore a major consumer of fossil fuels and contributor to CO2 and air pollution. I...
Funded by: EPSRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project aims to investigate the potential transport and energy benefits of closer operational collaboration between parcel carriers, which partially addresses the question by exploring future improvements to the planning system to support road freight in meeting government ambitions.