Foulger Transport says it will continue running a pioneering consolidation centre initiative aimed at reducing congestion and emissions in Norwich, despite poor take-up from retailers struggling in the economic climate.
The Norfolk-based haulier has been operating a freight consolidation centre, branded Portal Norwich, in Snetterton for the last four years but it has struggled to convince potential customers to change their delivery routines.
There are currently three retailers using Portal Norwich for their deliveries, but the company says it could handle "10 times" more.
It says the recession, poor high street sales and the bad winter have all conspired to put off retailers from using Portal Norwich, even though the haulier has exclusive use of a bus lane in the city to speed up delivery times.
Selling the concept has been made even more difficult after European funding worth up to £5,500 a month expired in March last year.
But Foulger group operations manager Simon Lee says it remains positive about the future:
"We are very pleased about where we are," he says. "We have increased our fleet by 15% since the start of the recession. Portal Norwich is a very small part of our overall business; we are doing very well in tough economic times. We would love to see it increase; we can easily cope with 10 times the volume.
"We continue to support the scheme and continue to have the facility here at Snetterton for freight consolidation, and we will remain in contact with Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council over the project," he adds.
The county council says the traffic order allowing Foulger HGVs to use a bus lane still stands.
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