South London FQP Projects

Construction Logistics Plans are a key initiative identified within TfL’s London Freight Plan.

Due to significant developments proposed in the Croydon area, we have initiated discussions with Croydon Council, logistics providers, some of the relevant developers and their lead contractors to establish how the effects of the construction phase of these developments can be best managed through best logistics practice.

An initial workshop to discuss this issue was held in March 2008 (presentations are available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website). We have since been working with the main contractors of one of these developments to explore the practicalities of implementing an exemplar construction logistics plan. Since the workshop Croydon Council has announced plans to redevelop its own municipal complex, and we are currently working with them and TfL to investigate how best to incorporate best practice in construction logistics techniques as part of this development.

We have also recently opened discussions with several of our member Boroughs regarding broader application of Construction Logistics Plans in the context of the development of the Town Centre Area Action Plans that have been developed in several cases. It is hoped that these would enable larger benefits through the application of commons processes and facilities compared with several CLPs operating in parallel for development located close to each other.

Delivery and Servicing Plans are a key element of TfL’s London Freight Plan, and aim to better coordinate delivery and servicing activities to premises within the capital.

Our Borough members have been keen to lead the way by understanding the nature of delivery and servicing activity to their premises before developing their own DSPs. Therefore we undertook scoping work on behalf of Sutton, Croydon and Bromley Councils to identify the key issues relating to the development of Delivery and Servicing Plans (DSPs) for their premises. We followed this up by working closely with the same three Boroughs to use the results from the initial scoping studies to progress towards integrating the DSP concept within each organisation’s existing policies. All these reports are now available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website.  The London Borough of Sutton is now working in partnership with TTR, who co-ordinate the FQP, on the TRAILBLAZER project which is funded by the E.U. to develop and spread best practice in Delivery and Servicing plans – for more information go to www.trailblazer.eu.

Following on from this, two projects aimed at developing DSPs for private sector organisations, either individually or as a group within a particular location, have been running during 2010/11 and the outputs from these projects will be available soon.

Inadequate provision of on and off-street loading and unloading facilities can severely hinder the efficient and safe delivery of goods.

If combined with inconsiderate delivery practices, lack of adequate planning for freight can create additional congestion by obstructing the 'right of way' for other vehicles.

Inconsistent and over-zealous implementation of parking restrictions can also lead to an excessive number of penalty change notices (PCNs) being issued, with significant negative impacts on logistics providers and the local economy.

We’re continuing to work with the freight transport industry, local authorities and local businesses to identify where problems exist in terms of loading bay provision, delivery practices and PCN hotspots.

Six sites across South London were identified and the recommendations completed in the Spring of 2007 are available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website.

Key recommendations included providing adequate legal loading facilities; an appropriate level of enforcement; reductions in congestion, noise, conflict and a positive impact of improvements to efficient and safe delivery practices.

Since then, a number of further sites have been selected for study and implementation which are being developed through further consultation with relevant borough officers. Two of these were South Wimbledon Business Area (Merton) and Tolworth Broadway (Kingston) where we undertook detailed studies into delivery and servicing activities to understand the nature of freight movement and loading/unloading activity within these two areas. (Again, reports of these studies are now available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website.) We understand that the Boroughs will be implementing the recommendations if related applications for funding are successful.

As a result of this, six of our eight member Boroughs have agreed to recognise the terms of the London Loading/Unloading Code of Practice.

We have developed a “...preferred freight access route map for HGV drivers and operators...” which covers Chessington Industrial Estate, Kingston. It can be downloaded from the Publications and Reports.

Merton Council has worked with us to develop local guides to the existing loading and unloading facilities in key parts of their Borough. Guides for Morden, Colliers Wood and Wimbledon are now available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website.

In response to local concerns raised with Borough Officers in Kingston upon Thames during 2008, we investigated reports of rat running by delivery vehicles in New Malden. The resultant report produced for the local Borough Officers is available to download from the Publications and Reports section of this website.

We have developed a formal list of hotspots in collaboration with the Boroughs and we’ve conducted a review of how PCNs are issued. With this we are working with TfL, fellow FQPs and our partner Boroughs to develop an enhanced, London-wide information system for freight-related PCNs. Two of SLFQP’s member Boroughs have now incorporated a commercial vehicle marker within their PCN management systems and we are working with our other Borough members to persuade them of the benefits of such action. 

Night-time Deliveries offer significant potential benefits, such as removing of large vehicles from the network during the day at peak times and the associated reduction of noise and air pollution, as well as efficiency benefits for operators.

After completing a review of best practice in carrying out night-time deliveries we worked with operators, retailers and Boroughs to identify opportunities to set up night-time delivery trials at locations within South London. This led to a 10 week night-time delivery trial in partnership with the London Borough of Bromley and Sainsbury’s. The trial has now been completed and we are in the process of collating the results and producing a report.

SLFQP’s ongoing communications activity involves a range of activities, including Press and PR work, exhibition at events and speaking commitments, all aimed at raising both the awareness and the profile of the South London FQP, its aims and its objectives. Details of upcoming events are outlined in the Events section and further information is available in the News section of this website.