Appendix 1, Lead Member for Transport and Environment

Noted · Received for information; no decision followed.

The East Sussex Freight Strategy 2025-2050 builds on the vision outlined in the fourth East Sussex Local Transport Plan. p7

The strategy focuses on four priority investment areas: strategic freight movements, decarbonisation, last mile logistics, and planning and policy. p18

The existing freight routing network policy for HGVs to use A and B roads wherever possible remains, after considering introducing a freight routing network to redirect HGVs away from villages. p5

East Sussex is home to the port of Newhaven, which carries ferry passenger and road freight to and from Dieppe, France. p24

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• p52 Executive Summary The ambition for freight in East Sussex is to support the efficient movement of goods as it is critical to both the productivity of our businesses and people’s everyday lives through the movement of goods to shops and between business to business, to our homes and local collection points, and in supporting the growing expectation of on-demand deliveries. This aligns with the Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4) and will also align with the other modal strategies being developed or updated. Significant stakeholder engagement, consultations and evidence gathering has been undertaken which has constructively shaped the East Sussex Freight Strategy, which has been updated to reflect some of the key comments made in response to the public consultation. Four priority areas for investment have been identified as part of this process. The strategy has been developed to be able to demonstrate our priorities for freight and how we can achieve them, and how progress can be made on these in the short term, and as part of the forthcoming changes to local government reorganisation and thereafter. Consideration has been given within the strategy to introducing a freight routing network so that Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) be redirected away from villages. However, on balance, this would place additional pressures on the limited A roads in the county, impacting on overall journey times for all road users, increasing journey times for HGV drivers and costs for operators (which in turn may be passed onto customers) due to vehicles having to take a longer distance and timed route. Therefore, the existing freight routing network policy for HGVs to use A and B roads wherever possible remains.
• p73 Introduction Our ambition for freight in East Sussex is to support the efficient movement of goods. Freight is critical to people’s everyday lives through the movement of goods to shops and businesses, our homes and local collection points, and in supporting the growing expectation of on-demand deliveries. The East Sussex Freight Strategy 2025 – 2050 builds on the vision outlined in the
• p18· The differing roles that East Sussex County Council and key partners have in either influencing or delivering improvements or supporting innovation. Key partners include freight industry suppliers and customers, private sector freight and logistics operators, local businesses and end-users, National Highways (NH), Network Rail (NR), (and the emerging Great British Railways - GBR), Transport for the South East (TfSE), and other national, local, public and private sector entities. The strategy recognises the emerging changes in local government, with the establishment of the MCCA for Sussex and Brighton , with elections for a Mayor in May 2026. This is alongside the creation of new unitary authorities across the West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and East Sussex geography. In East Sussex, this would mean moving away from the current two-tier model of county council (East Sussex County Council) and borough or district councils (Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden) to a single-tier authority, with the district and boroughs becoming the responsibility of the unitary authority moving forward. The changes to, and reorganisation of, local government, are likely to take place up to 2028. Purpose of this strategy The East Sussex Freight Strategy sets out our vision for the delivery of improvements to the movement of freight in East Sussex, and focuses on four priority investment areas: · Priority Investment Area 1- Strategic freight movements · Priority Investment Area 2 – Decarbonisation · Priority Investment Area 3 – Last mile logistics · Priority Investment Area 4 – Planning & policy East Sussex Local Transport Plan 4 Local Transport Plans (LTPs) are a requirement of the Transport Act 2000. As part of the fourth East Sussex LTP (LTP4), this (supporting) Freight Strategy for the county has been developed.
• p24International freight gateways The south coast of England is home to major international freight gateways of national significance. East Sussex (specifically) is home to the port of Newhaven, with ferry passenger and road freight carried to/from Dieppe (France), alongside short sea and coastal shipping. To the east of the county in Kent are the international gateways of Dover (which has a ferry to Calais) and Folkestone (home to the Channel Tunnel to Calais). In the west there are the seaports of Portsmouth (for passenger and road freight) and Southampton (for container shipping). Newhaven Port has a smaller role in the hierarchy of freight gateways along the south coast, but offers a popular and vital alternative. Shipping freight from Newhaven is moved by both the strategic rail network and the strategic road network. Via the A259 (east-west) and the A26 (to the north). Road freight from Dover and the Channel Tunnel that is destined for elsewhere in the country moves predominantly through Kent via the M20, M26 and M25, bypassing East Sussex. The county’s location places us within reach of the European continent by road via the Eurotunnel and/or Dover, and major freight shipping via the container terminal at Southampton. Rye Harbour, in Rother District, is a small-scale commercial wharf facilitating the imports of aggregates and the exports of grain to mainland Europe. Additionally, Rye Harbour is home to a considerable industrial area with storage and heavy industry (e.g. refining oil). Further cross-boundary movements are central to the movement of freight in East Sussex. Located north-west of East Sussex is London Gatwick Airport, a significant hub with a dedicated cargo centre and various freight handling services. The expansion and growth of London Gatwick Airport (the Northern Runway Project which will double the volume of cargo handled) provides opportunities for economic and employment growth for East Sussex and the region.