ALLAN McVeigh's role in life is to get everyone thinking about freight transport.

As North Yorkshire County Council's newly-appointed freight transport officer, he recognises the importance of the lorry in maintaining a thriving economy.

But his post has been created to implement a sustainable distribution strategy for North Yorkshire. This will put a greater emphasis on the use of rail and water as complementary and alternative methods of freight distribution.

This is in line with the government's thinking in its New Deal for Transport.

"The first stage of the county council strategy recognises that we cannot continue to cater for the unrestrained growth in traffic. Initiatives which favour promotion of local goods and services will therefore be encouraged," said Mr McVeigh.

"The second phase is a crucial aspect of the strategy which will lead to the development of rail and water links to encourage a shift towards these more sustainable forms of distribution.

"We must always recognise, however, that even under the most optimistic predictions, road haulage will continue to make up the vast majority of freight movements throughout the county.

"The third part of the strategy therefore will be a series of measures designed to minimise the adverse impact of the lorry on the environment.

"These include the setting up of new partnerships between the freight distribution industry, its representatives, residents groups, other local authorities and any other interested parties to reduce the impact of heavy commercial vehicles in their particular locality."

Other initiatives include:

Defining preferred routes for heavy commercial vehicles.

The protection of land for potential future use by rail through the planning process.

The promotion of cleaner vehicles and industry initiatives such as the Road Haulage Association's Well Driven policy.

The freight strategy is just one part of an overall transport policy which aims to develop a more sustainable and inclusive approach.

"We need to meet the social and economic needs of local communities and business without jeopardising the needs of the environment," said Mr McVeigh, pictured below.