New HGV policy approved

A new policy to regulate the movement of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in Cambridgeshire has been approved.

The new HGV Policy, which has been endorsed by members of the county council’s Highways and Transport Committee today (Tuesday, 4 October), will help to reduce the impact on local communities and the environment, issues which have led to complaints to the council from residents who are concerned about the adverse effect on road surfaces, air and noise pollution and the safety of other road users and pedestrians.

The policy sets out how communities can take their own actions to address these issues, and how they can seek advice, support and action from the council if locally brokered solutions are unsuccessful.

The policy was put together by a cross-party group of councillors who reviewed the council’s existing HGV policy while looking at best practice elsewhere. The group was assisted by key stakeholders including police, planning, the Road Haulage Association, National Highways and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. The aim was to find a balance between supporting the vital role HGVs play while acknowledging that they are not suitable for all parts of the public highway.

The existing policy was approved back in 2011, and since then there has been a growth in HGV traffic numbers which, according to a report from Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange, contribute 21% of transport emissions in the county. This has been partly fuelled by the rise of online deliveries.

The freight system helps meet the UK’s most essential needs, from supplying food to supermarkets and fuel to petrol stations, and the new policy seeks to strike a balance between supporting the economic benefits while reducing the impact on the environment and communities.

This includes:

• Parish and town councils being able to ask local hauliers to sign a voluntary covenant - an agreement covering what communities will expect from haulage companies and their drivers and what they will do in return • Volunteers establishing ‘lorry watch’ groups in liaison with police, and communities able to apply for funding for advisory signage
• Traffic calming measures, speed reduction schemes and formal routing agreements agreed through planning applications
• The potential to introduce an environmental weight limit if certain criteria are met
• Introducing the Cambridgeshire Advisory Freight Map – which sets out the routes across the county which are currently restricted for use by HGVs due to weight limits and height or width restrictions - on the one.network website. This information will also be fed into sat-nav systems and apps along with appropriate diversions routes.

Cllr Neil Shailer, vice chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee, said: “We recognise both the significant economic benefits HGV journeys deliver and the impact they can have on local communities.

“I believe the new policy delivers a balance which will enable drivers to carry out their duties while allowing concerned residents to take appropriate measures to limit any adverse consequences.

“On behalf of the committee I would like to thank members of the cross-party working group and key stakeholders for putting together this policy.”

The agenda for the Highways and Transport Committee meeting can be viewed here. A live stream of the meeting can also be viewed back on the council’s YouTube page.