Richard Preston Head of Road Safety & Parking Services REVIEW OF HCV MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

DRIVERS FOR THE REVIEW Growth across the county – expectation of increased lorry activity A14 improvements Waste and Minerals Plan Localism – expectation that local communities will be more involved in decisions Current environmental weight limit policy due for review Resources – limited funding now available

CAMBRIDGESHIRE FREIGHT ROUTE MAP County road network reviewed Consultations with local communities undertaken to influence and inform new map Defines use of routes Designed to inform route selection by lorry drivers Will influence decisions taken through the planning process

ENVIRONMENTAL WEIGHT RESTRICTION POLICY Influenced by outcomes of a public inquiry (Hilton) Attempts to balance environmental impact with impact on haulage costs Presumption that environmental benefit will be achieved but costly to evaluate Resists restrictions on A and B roads 50% / 30 lorry movements removed daily used as a threshold test Seen as too rigid in approach by some communities

NEW STRATEGY AND APPROACH Lorry movements and any HCV controls need to be consistent with new freight route map Advocates a partnership approach to bring together local communities and the haulage industry Recognises the importance of lorry movements in supporting economic well being Identifies the limited council resources available Council to act as facilitator between local communities and haulage interests Use of planning agreements to agree key routes and secure industry investment in routing measures

ESCALATION PROCESS: KEY ELEMENTS Seeks commitment from both parties to a resolution Attempts to balance environmental aspects with industry needs Assess possible mitigation/control measures and their impacts on both parties Need to consider how any measures will be monitored / enforced Formal restrictions considered as the last not the first option

ESCALATION PROCESS: PROCESS Seeks local commitment and involvement Aims to ensure lorry problems are correctly analysed and understood by both parties Element of self assessment through use of an Exposure Index Includes assessment of financial impact on haulage industry Attempts to balance environmental aspects with industry needs

ESCALATION PROCESS: PROCESS Involves a trigger point for investigation Aims to provide a step by step process Does it appear logical? Is it understandable? Work in progress

EXPOSURE INDEX Provides subjective way of quantifying settlement sensitivity to HCV intrusion Requires local input and ownership Support from the council

EXPOSURE INDEX Utilises traffic survey information on lorry flows and speeds 6 other parameters measured to assess sensitivity Subjective in nature but meant to be pragmatic Are the parameters right or do other things need to be taken into account? Is it user friendly and understandable? Work in progress

RE-ROUTING TOOL Assesses the impact of re-routing lorries in terms of cost and carbon impact Work in progress

OUTSTANDING ISSUES: ENFORCEMENT Need to manage expectations Joint approach to monitoring advocated on the ‘Lorry Watch’ model Monitoring information used to influence driver compliance Formal enforcement seen as the last resort not the first step

OUTSTANDING ISSUES: ZONAL IMPACTS Access controls in one village can transfer lorry movements to another village Potential need for villages to work in partnership to address issues across a zone or area

OUTSTANDING ISSUES: COSTS Weight limit orders can be costly to implement Limited highway budgets available so unlikely that council will be able to fund schemes Need for third party funding Advice provided to local communities on likely costs