Using Britain’s canal system to move significant amounts of cargo could be a viable green alternative to lorries.
’Green highways’ – locations and capacities
Signs of growth in Yorkshire . . . first commercial barge deliveries to Leeds in 20 years* – ‘a green model’ .
In September the Business Desk and many other media outlets reported that a new service had started, transporting marine dredged aggregates from Hull to Knudstorp, east Leeds.
Leeds City Council’s minerals planning policy officers earlier had decided to safeguard a number of wharves in the city from unsuitable developments. They included Knostrop and at Stourton which could be used to unload aggregates and construction materials, needed for infrastructure projects such as the Leeds South Bank development. Other cargoes, such as timber, oil and steel could also be transported from the Humber estuary to Leeds.
The Canal & River Trust’s economic regeneration plans for a new inland port at Stourton on the Aire & Calder Navigation on the outskirts of Leeds have been widely welcomed.
A June report for the members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) claimed that the new port, which would receive containers and other cargoes from the Humber ports, could move 200,000 tonnes of freight in its first year, create extra jobs and reduce carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes.
Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, the Rt Hon Jake Berry MP (above), pointed out that the new port will remove up to half a million tonnes of freight traffic from local roads and relieve traffic congestion.
He said: “I am excited to support this pioneering new project from the Canal & River Trust to create a new inland port at Stourton Wharf in Leeds . . . (It) will create a host of new economic opportunities not just for people in Leeds but throughout this key region of the Northern Powerhouse”.
The Commercial Boat Operators Association (CBOA), the national trade organisation for barge and other commercial craft operators on the UK’s inland waterways, warmly welcomed this news, commenting that the site is well located in logistics terms, being close to motorway and rail connections.
With modest improvements to the navigation, barges could bring containers to Stourton, relieving road traffic congestion on the M 62 and reducing pollution.
Existing barges can carry up to 550 tonnes each – the equivalent of 27 lorries carrying 20 tonnes. With navigational improvements, it would be possible to bring Euro-Class 11 barges carrying 650 tonnes across from Europe.
In Yorkshire, bargemen had to find other jobs when the Lafarge sand traffic stopped c 2013. Now the Leeds traffic has started, attention is focussed on recruitment of younger folk, such as those returning from working on the declining North Sea sites.
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*Correction from the CBOA‘s David Lowe: One small point on the Yorkshire link – the oft quoted ‘20 year’ period is incorrect. Steel was taken to central Leeds in 2007, and oil (albeit to Woodlesford on the outskirts) until 2013.
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Next: London’s use of waterway freight
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Inland Waterway Freight 