PLANS to get more lorries on the region's roads have been criticised by county councillors.

The Northern Freight Group, a consortium of public and private bodies, has produced a strategy document with proposals to help the freight industry over the next 15 years.

It calls for measures to free road space from car use in order to ease problems of congestion it says is hampering the transport business, including allowing lorries to use bus lanes.

It also proposes introducing a presumption against freight handling facilities being built away from the region's ports.

But Durham County Council is to signal its opposition to parts of the strategy after it was considered by the cabinet.

Councillor Bob Pendlebury, cabinet member for environment, transport and sustainability, said: " It focuses too heavily on the economic and business case for the development of the freight industry in the region and lacks commitment to the environmental and social issues relating to the industry."

He said the call to allow more lorries to use the roads was "quite unrealistic and contrary to national, regional and local policy, which is to reduce traffic.''

He also warned that a proposed review of planning restrictions on the movement of freight and lorry routing "can only be with a view to their possible relaxation".

Coun Pendlebury said the document's proposals "would clearly prejudice the development of the Tursdale road/rail interchange in Durham.''

He said consultants recently reported that the South Coast ports would be the main destination for international freight and freight was more likely to go by rail in this region.

"This implies that an inland freight transfer facility, such as Tursdale, will fit in with the evolving pattern of international and national freight distribution," he said.