IWA Freight Policy

IWA Believes That...

1. Central Government should:

Establish a unit within the Department of Transport with overall responsibility for development of waterborne freight;
Adopt policies to fulfil the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution recommendations for a 5% increase in freight transport by water, building on the Government's 1994 Roads to Water initiative;
Work with the European Union to develop a consistent policy across all European countries for environmental appraisal of waterway projects; 
Work to develop a common policy of charging for access to track that is equitable across road, rail and water modes;
Wake up to the European dimension - in terms of participation in international projects (eg TENs) and adoption of standard waterway dimensions for barge traffic and river-sea ships;
Work towards a common system in the UK for management of navigation on freight waterways, which is separate from the ownership and management of ports;
Improve the grants system for waterway infrastructure, craft and access; 
Develop an environmentally acceptable coordinated freight transport policy;
Adopt a common system for appraisal of proposed transport schemes that takes account of environmental and social costs and benefits. 

2. Strategic Development Planning bodies should be established to:

Protect strategic waterside sites for future waterway infrastructure development;
Develop Regional policies of planning provision for inland ports (eg allocations in Local Plans);
Set up regional working groups on freight transport;
Persuade local planning authorities to encourage, not constrain water freight transport, e.g. in relation to mineral extractions;
Ensure that other projects are designed to accommodate future freight waterway developments (eg provision of adequate air draught at road bridges);
Promote the use of Life Cycle Assessment and the Best
Practicable Environmental Option approach for appraisal of transport infrastructure developments, linked to the sustainable development policies beingdeveloped under Local Agenda 21 arising from the Rio Convention. 

3.Research and development should be promoted in freight transport systems and technology to:

Develop new methods for including environmental and social costs in the appraisal of transport schemes;
Develop new vessel designs and combined transport systems;
Reduce potential nuisance from wharf operations;
Introduce protocols for comprehensive environmental assessment of all freight transport projects, including identification of positive environmental benefits;
Promote collection of adequate data for decision-making;
" Establish training programmes for inland waterway freight operations personnel.

4. A national programme for water freight development should be adopted involving:

Encouragement of the fullest possible use of the waterways we have already. Government support for use of freight waterways and promotion of increased awareness in the business community;
Implementation of a rolling programme of development of waterway infrastructure.

5. The environment must be protected.

Use of waterways for freight transport provides significant environmental advantages compared with rail and road and usuallyprovides an enhanced environment but, as we have seen, there may also be adverse effects, particularly during construction. However, all major development projects will require an Engineering Feasibility Study and must be subjected to Environmental Assessment, which is a well developed procedure. 'Environmental effects' are interpreted very widely in the regulations and the assessment must consider effects of the scheme on human beings, flora and fauna, air, water and soil, climate, cultural heritage, material assets and interactions between any of these. Beneficial and harmful effects must be evaluated and mitigation measures proposed to avoid or minimise adverse impacts. Meanwhile, costs and economic development opportunities along the route will be identified. In this way, the environment will be protected and improved so that, as far as possible:

6. Damage to canals and navigation works retained for their heritage value will be avoided;

Potential conservation, recreation, landscape, water management and hydropower benefits will be maximised
adequate environmental mitigation measures will be applied.
Environmental Assessment is already required for all major freight waterway development projects for craft over 1350 tonnes. ISO propose also that effects on freight waterways and navigation should always be considered as a specific issue in the
Environmental Assessment of other waterside development projects, including wide consultation with users and other interested parties - this is not always the case at present.