Press Release

Sea and Water gives a qualified welcome to the Eddington Review

1 December 2006

The Treasury and the Department for Transport has today published the report of the Eddington Transport Study.

Sea and Water contributed to the Eddington Study, making the case that water-borne freight transport is a key economic pillar for the UK.

Sea and Water believes that the report provides a useful analysis, and welcomes Sir Rod’s acknowledgement of the key role of a properly-functioning transport system – for freight as well as passengers – in a successful UK economy.

A key solution of the report to the economic and environmental challenge of ever-increasing road usage and congestion is road pricing.  Sea and Water strongly supports the principle behind this recommendation.

In the Case for Water, published earlier this year, Sea and Water argued for road pricing as the way to create a level playing field between road transport and much less environmentally-damaging modes, such as water freight.

However, the Study does not address the potential of water freight in any detail.  It also does not propose solutions to some of the difficulties facing the sector.  This is disappointing given the environmental benefits, and the unrealised potential, of freight transport using inland waterways and coastal shipping.

Gavin Devine, executive director of Sea and Water, said:

“The Eddington Study provides a useful analysis of the challenges facing the UK and its transport system.  It makes some useful recommendations, and its support for a system of road pricing is very welcome.”

“But the Study overlooks a very obvious solution to the challenges we face in transporting goods.  Inland waterways and coastal shipping have the capacity to carry much more freight, reducing congestion and cutting carbon emissions by taking lorries off the roads.  But the Study does not address the needs of the sector in detail.”

“So Eddington is a missed opportunity to promote water freight as a practical solution to the UK’s transport challenges.”