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Government policy
The UK Government has failed to develop a strategic planning framework
for ports and this lack of long term vision sets ports aside from other
transport sectors like road and air.
In November 2000 a Government white paper "Modern
Ports: A UK Policy", concluded:
- current capacity is hard to measure
- the Government doesn't want to assess port need based on a sound analysis
of supply and demand as it does for roads and airportst
- the Government doesn't want to produce a national spatial strategy
which would provide a frame work for where new port capacity should
go
- the Government concedes defeat and decides to leave all the decisions
to be made by market forces
This lack of framework means that port development proposals are considered
in isolation on their own merits, rather than as a whole. Under this
present regime there is little consideration given to how and where projected
capacity shortfall should be met and there is a danger that viable alternatives
are not considered at all. The risks of over providing capacity and unconstrained
growth are amplified.
Before major decisions are reached on 'superport' development the Government
must:
- develop reliable models of port productivity, and consider how existing ports may be able to meet growing demand
- agree how to measure constrained demand for and supply of port capacity
- formulate a framework for assessing the impact of port proposals on local communities, transport infrastructure and patterns of transport use
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