On 27 July 2020 the Government published “Gear Change – a bold vision for cycling and walking1” setting out the Government’s plans to promote cycling and walking in England. Key aims for this strategy include improvements in reducing congestion in town centres, increasing local business, reducing transport’s environmental impact, improving air quality, and reducing noise.
One of the commitments made in Gear Change is to pilot the use of compulsory urban consolidation centres (CUCCs) in historic city centres, specifically, it said:
“In one or two small historic city centres with narrow and crowded streets, we will pilot compulsory freight consolidation schemes, based on experience from the Continent, which seek to ensure that all deliveries (except perishables and items which require specialist carriers) are made to consolidation centres on the edge of the city centre, or the edge of the city, then taken to their final destinations in a far smaller number of vehicles, including cargo bikes and electric vans wherever possible. These pilots could complement work already underway by cities and towns to develop Clean Air Zones to improve air quality.”
The Department for Transport commissioned a study to review previous research and trials to improve understanding of the elements that make for a successful and viable Compulsory Urban Consolidation Centre (CUCC) and also identify barriers and risks. This report, representing the output of the study, encompasses the results of:
The increased demand for the distribution of goods and services in cities are forecast to continue to grow through the 21st century, due to increasing urbanisation, income growth, and fragmentation of supply chains.
The fragmentation of logistics at the last mile delivery stage is evident, both globally and locally, as smaller vehicles are delivering smaller consignments of lower value but higher density goods. The causes of this fragmentation are yet to be fully understood but are known to include rising home deliveries; online shopping; regulations on time; vehicle size or type; reduction of storage; just-in-time principles; and replacement of stocks with last minute deliveries. This inefficient use of resources has impacted the economic viability of delivery services, since the cost of last-mile deliveries could contribute anywhere between 13% and 75% of the total logistics costs, with research suggesting a norm of 40-50% for parcel deliveries.
Freight traffic has been highly unpopular with the public in the UK, who consider it the lowest priority in terms of road use and see a growing issue of congestion and safety conflicts between cyclists and commercial vehicles. Some recent research into US metropolitan areas also suggests traffic congestion growth negatively affects growth in income and employment.
Furthermore, in 2018, 34% of Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) emissions and 13% of Particulate Matter (PM2.5) emissions came from transport, and Transport produced 27% of the UK's total emissions in 2019. Of this, the majority (91%) came from road transport vehicles (111 MtCO2e). Diesel is the predominant freight fuel and therefore the major contributor to nitrogen oxide pollutants (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) - the main causes of poor air quality.
Freight consolidation centres can, in many of their various forms, help to reduce the number of delivery vehicles in the areas they serve (in some specific circumstances, by up to 80%). However in the past, many
1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england