How Normandy’s SRADDET is shaping the future of logistics
SRADDET is the planning tool covering regional planning and development, including logistics. The Normandy Region has adopted one and has just incorporated the new requirements arising from the Climate and Resilience Act regarding land-use efficiency and logistics. The Green Industry Act now requires industry to be incorporated into SRADDETs.
The Regional Scheme for Planning, Sustainable Development and Territorial Equality (SRADDET) was introduced by the NOTRe Act (2015). This strategic document covers numerous areas: environment, energy, transport, the economy, tourism, landscapes, etc. SRADDET seeks to support the transitions under way in regional planning. The Normandy Region is positioning itself as a pioneer in this planning effort, since the first version of its scheme was adopted as early as 2019, owing to its strategic benefits, as Laurent Mary, Deputy Director General for Transport and Regional Planning at the Normandy Region, explains: “SRADDET sets out an assessment and seeks to strengthen this urban framework and foster its vitality by bringing together economic or social services that enable each to reinforce the others.”
The Climate and Resilience Act (2021) requires SRADDET to incorporate or strengthen certain cross-cutting themes, such as land-use efficiency and logistics. Following several quarters of consultation with all stakeholders and currently in the public consultation phase, the Normandy Regional Council is expected to adopt an enhanced version by March, although it does not specify the number of hectares allocated to logistics.
Incorporating a logistics coherence plan
This SRADDET will notably be enhanced by a logistics coherence plan. This was made easier because the region had already developed one, Laurent Mary explains: “it is an integration intended to strengthen its links with other regional dimensions, such as transport management or ending land take by 2050.” Indeed, logistics stakeholders face multiple challenges, including the need for large sites, the impact of transport infrastructure and support for the sector in producing green, decarbonized energy. “We have set ourselves two main objectives, the Deputy Director General of the Normandy Region continues: to foster logistics development by continuing to enhance the attractiveness of our ports, a major provider of activity at regional level. Then, to work on facilitating logistics through the development and maintenance of transport infrastructure along the Seine corridor.”
On the latter point, institutions aim to provide support to help stakeholders in this industry move toward new forms of development for more resource-efficient, and sometimes smaller, logistics warehouse buildings. Regarding transport and its decarbonization potential, Laurent Mary presents two very specific examples that Normandy can offer: “the installation of electric charging stations for logistics activities and freight transport, powered locally by offshore wind and tidal energy, which the Region has tirelessly supported. Then, modal shift to rail and inland waterway transport.” The Region actively helps fund the maintenance and modernization of transport infrastructure, notably along the Seine from the Port of Le Havre to the outskirts of the Paris region.
Leveraging Normandy’s strengths through the Port of Le Havre and the Seine
Indeed, SRADDET focuses on certain areas, such as the Seine corridor, a major logistics route. The Normandy Region is working to make port facilities more attractive, including in Cherbourg, which has a combined boat-and-rail transport center, as well as to improve navigability on the Seine, where the Region funds the renovation of structures (dams, locks, etc.) that help maintain draft, alongside the French government, which also acts through HAROPA, the association of the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. “These regular investments are combined with the joint action of port hubs and VNF on land to intelligently relocate logistics activities, with unloading facilities near Paris and low-carbon energy refueling stations,” Laurent Mary explains. In the coming years, a barge lock at the Port of Le Havre will facilitate direct access for barges to the loading quay—instead of the double handling required today. This project, initially budgeted at €100 million, is 80% funded by the Region in addition to European funds. By forming a barrier against the open sea, the barge lock will protect the interior of the unloading quay and enable direct transshipment from container ships to inland barges. These structuring projects for the region contribute to the vitality of Normandy and strengthen its role as a major logistics hub.
