A more responsive and agile planning system to meet the needs of the industrial and logistics sector is starting to take shape through the recent publication of the Department for Transport (DfT) “Future of Freight : a long-term plan” (the Plan) on the 15 June 2022.

Prologis has been working hard to ensure that the Government recognises the importance of the logistics sector to the post pandemic recovery, and we welcome the publication of the Plan.

Statements made in the Plan by Trudy Harrison MP from the DfT, noting that freight is one of the most pressing national priorities from building back after the pandemic and levelling up, is a real positive.

There was some industry disappointment when the MHCLG White Paper was published in 2020. Its lack of reference to the logistics sector left Prologis concerned as to why we had been excluded in the post pandemic recovery, when supply chain workers were given keyworker status and regarded as instrumental in keeping the country functioning by delivering essential goods to homes and shops.

The Covid-19 pandemic put a much greater reliance on online shopping and obtaining goods quickly. Recent Governments have always focussed on the housing sector, so we are pleased to see a balance in policy terms with a dedicated paper to address our sector. Since then, we have been championing the fact the industry is a critical part of our national infrastructure, ensuring we can access the goods we need and providing many and varied jobs vital to the economy. Every year £54bn worth of goods flow through Prologis distribution centres in the UK alone, equivalent to 2.6% of the UK GDP.
The Plan identifies five priorities which will be overseen by a refreshed Freight Council model (holding the Government and sector to account on the delivery of these commitments over coming years):

1. A National Freight Network: that will remove barriers and promote the seamless flow of freight.
2. Transition to Net Zero by 2050: ensuring collaboration on supporting the whole sector achieving net zero.
3. Planning: recognises that the planning system needs to be more responsive and calls for reform to ensure that it meets the needs of the freight and logistics sector and that local planning authorities are empowered to plan for those needs.
4. People & Skills: to make supply chains more resilient to skills shortages there is a need to produce a pipeline of talent across the freight sector by improving the training and employment options; addressing awareness and negative perceptions of the industry; and promote the availability of attractive, fulfilling jobs at all levels of the industry.
5. Data & Technology: acknowledges the need for the freight sector to embrace technological innovation and accelerate the adoption of currently available solutions.

The aspiration is to provide a world beating freight and logistics sector that will deliver the greener, fairer, and stronger economy we need. The Government is clear that the sector will help build a truly Global Britain valued by the public, stakeholders, and key decision makers.

The Plan sets out six high level planning priorities which start to address some of the issues raised by the industry. Specific to the planning priorities identified within the paper at Prologis:

1. We are hopeful that the planning reforms will now address the sector in more positive way. We agree that better collaboration between industry and local authorities is key in driving a more agile and responsive planning system.  As with all planning policy the devil will be in the detail and in the actual timescales and delivery of the objectives; but we are pleased to see a call for reform and the acknowledgement of the challenges in obtaining planning and securing land allocations.
2. We have seen a record amount of warehouse space being used and the significant loss of industrial space to other uses over the last 20 years has made it challenging for the industry to meet demand. We agree with the need to explore ways to protect and expand warehousing land capacity. The Plan acknowledges that to achieve this, the planning system needs to ensure that sufficient land is made available in the right places for freight operations and that it can respond to the changing needs of the freight and logistics sector – such as how to plan for the adoption of future vehicle technologies. There is a need to increase site allocations for freight and supply infrastructure being adopted in Local Plans to reflect the needs of the sector, alongside more robust and agile policies, where needed, to meet specific local needs. We consider that the policies need to be able to respond to the pace that the industry has changed in the last five years. We are mindful of the time it takes to adopt some strategic and local plans and how quickly they become out of date. Continual collaborative engagement with the industry will be integral to ensuring that the policies are fit for the future.
3. We are encouraged by the commitments to providing a planning system which fully recognises the needs of the freight and logistics sector now and empowering the relevant planning authority to plan for those needs. We are cognisant of the deluge of policy changes coming given how over stretched councils already are and if they have the people-capacity to digest and up-skill for all of these changes. It will be interesting to see how the creation of the Freight Council model will work in delivering these commitments.
4. The National Freight Network (NFN) could provide an important enabling tool in defining and confirming the critical corridors for transportation of goods and in facilitating the growth in those corridors to serve needs. In this context, we are pleased to see the inclusion of Prologis RFI DIRFT within the Plan given the fact it is recognised as the most successful intermodal (rail/road) logistics park in the UK. DIRFT is a trailblazer in the industry and is providing a dedicated lorry park and a training facility at the Hub. The Hub at DIRFT is the first bespoke education facility built by Prologis and provides a dedicated space for logistics and skills training. The Hub not only provides the education / training facility required under the Development Consent Obligation – it has been chosen by Prologis as the location to launch its Prologis Warehousing and Logistics Training Programme (PWLTP). Which aims to train 11,000 people in West Northamptonshire and the wider South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) area by 2026. The first PWLTP training session was held The Hub at DIRFT on 28 November 2021. Building on the success of the Hub at DIRFT, Prologis is looking to roll-out PWLTP in a number of its warehouses across the Midlands and South East delivering significant social value and job creation in these locations.                                                                                      

   

5. We fully support the ambitions for net zero carbon in the industry. Prologis has committed to delivering net zero carbon emissions by 2040. We have always been ambitious in our sustainability efforts, and our new net zero goal is no exception. Prologis works closely with its customers to understand their environmental goals and programmes. We are investing in energy-related lines of business including EV charging and on-site solar to enable us to deliver on our own commitments to net zero well ahead of the aspirations of the objectives of the Plan.
6. We are keen to see how the planning system can support the needs of 24hr freight movements and technological advances, including night-time servicing arrangements and how to balance the amenity and environmental issues. There is a clear need to grapple with this issue due to our occupiers working to meet consumer expectations on same day and next day shipping.
7. We welcome the call for evidence and engagement with the Government. It needs to fully understand what currently works and what doesn’t work for freight and logistics.
8. We look forward to the establishment of a Freight Energy Forum by Autumn 2022, to share energy and fuel infrastructure plans, evaluate technology and research, engage with the development of the National Freight Network, and maximise funding opportunities for freight energy and fuel infrastructure deployment.

Our ability to secure permissions and Local Plan allocations is becoming more protracted. We hope that the Plan will focus policy makers to make the planning system more agile and empower LPAs to be able to support and deliver more industrial and logistics schemes.

Prologis will be responding to the call for evidence in Autumn 2022, having already contributed to various roundtable discussions, meetings with key policy makers; and through our involvement with the review of National Networks National Policy Statement – which the Government aims to complete by Spring 2023. The Government will also consult on and publish an updated DfT Circular later in 2022 that will include higher standards for roadside facilities on the strategic road network, and build upon the Written Ministerial Statement published with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which outlined the need to take into account specific requirements of different industrial sectors when preparing local plans and deciding planning applications.