Freight Quality Partnerships or FQPs are groups of transport operators and local authorities that come together to tackle the issues around freight access and deliveries in a particular location . FQPs are regarded as best practice by the Department of Transport (DfT ). Best practice is published by the Energy Savings Trust (on behalf of DfT). Two booklets are available:
- A guide on how to set up and run Freight Quality Partnerships (Good Practice Guide 335)
- Freight Quality Partnerships - Case Studies (Good Practice Case Study 410)
Some of these are small geographically, i.e. covering only one business estate, e.g. Brimsdown Business Area in Enfield, whilst others cover larger areas, such as West London.
Some are funded by the members themselves, others by regional authorities, e.g. Transport for London (TfL). Freight Quality Partnerships are a key part of TfL's London Freight Plan. Transport for London hosts an umbrella website for London's FQPs
Within London the current FQPs are:
Central London FQP, managed by the Central London Partnership.
West London FQP, managed by MVA Consulting.
South London FQP, managed by TTR Ltd.
Thames Gateway FQP, managed by Intermodality.
Islington FQP, managed by Steer Davies Gleave.
Outside of London there are many FQPs including:
Cambridgeshire FQP.
Oxfordshire FQP.
The Freight Quality Partnership Network (FQPN) is a discussion forum available to members of the Freight Transport Association (FTA).