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Winchester is to trial a ‘parcel delivery hub’ in the centre of the city, where vans will drop off parcels for final-mile electric cargo bikes.
Regional council partnership Solent Transport is working with Decarbon Logistics Solutions to launch the scheme and address air pollution in the historic city.
Work on the hub at Friarsgate car park starts on Tuesday 7 October before a 12-month trial commences in November to gauge whether switching from LCVs to bikes can cut congestion and improve air quality.
The city council added that the initiative would not completely replace existing delivery methods and the site would not function as a parcel drop-off point.
Under the scheme, parcels will be delivered to the hub by vans, then transferred to bikes for the final leg of their journey to homes and small businesses.
The facility will include secure storage and charging stations for up to 10 e-bikes, unloading areas for delivery vans, and welfare facilities for staff.
Councillor Kelsie Learney, cabinet member for the climate and nature emergency, said: “Trialling better ways of moving goods in the city centre is one of the ways in which we can go greener faster and help shape a healthier and more sustainable Winchester.”
The Winchester hub will act as a testbed for low-carbon delivery solutions that could be rolled out more widely across the Solent region.
The council added that at the end of the trial, the hub would be removed and the car park restored to its original condition.
Lessons learned will be reported to the department for transport and used to inform how similar projects might be implemented in the future.
