Government draft policy on ports "not fit for purpose": MPs

The government’s National Policy Statement for Ports is “not fit for purpose” and should clarify the role of local authorities with regard to port development, MPs have said.

The Ports NPS is the forerunner of the government’s new framework for national strategic infrastructure proposals, and the Department for Transport is keen to designate the policy shortly.

However, in a 266-page report the cross-party Transport Committee said there were two fundamental flaws in the consultation process which meant the policy should not be designated at this stage.

The first problem identified by the MPs is that the National Networks NPS covering road and rail networks has yet to be published “and so those organisations engaging in the Department’s consultation or in our inquiry are doing so with a patch over one eye”.

The second flaw, according to the committee, is that the Marine Management Organisation – which is likely to be one of the principal decision-makers for port development – has not yet been established and has therefore been unable to comment.

Committee chairman Louise Ellman said: “Our witnesses, from across the spectrum, told us that the ports policy should be clearly co-ordinated with that for national road and rail networks. Yet the government seems to be rushing the Ports NPS through with unnecessary haste.”

The MPs also recommended that:

• The Ports NPS should state which organisations, in addition to the Infrastructure Planning Commission and the Marine Management Organisation, are likely to be decision-makers on port development applications and therefore will be affected by the NPS. The role of local authorities with regard to port development should particularly be clarified
• The government should clarify the relationship between the Ports NPS and spatial planning documents, including regional spatial strategies, local development framework documents and ports master plans.
• The Ports NPS should require the IPC and other decision-makers to attach greater weight to regional and local spatial plans than it does in the draft
• The government should provide the IPC with an adequate statement of the type and scale of economic and social impact of port development, both at the national level and, “even more so”, at the regional level
• The government should clarify the guidance to decision-makers for the extent to which the impact of a given port development on existing commercial operators should be taken into consideration in determining an application, and
• The government should express a preference for port development where national needs can be met while producing the greatest regional, social and economic benefits. There should also be a clear preference for port development in locations where significant environmental benefits can be achieved, particularly through reduced inland road transport.

The MPs pointed out that there is no mention in the Ports NPS of the role of local authorities as the local planning authority for smaller port developments. The Department for Transport confirmed to the committee that local authorities will continue to make decisions on planning applications for land-side port development which fall below the thresholds set in the Planning Act 2008.

“The NPS will, therefore, be a material consideration for local planning authorities,” the committee said.

Louise Ellman added: “The government says the free-market should decide where ports are located. We believe that the Ports NPS should be linked more strongly to regional development plans.”