Last week we had a word with Edinburgh-based, worker-owned, e-cargo bike delivery service Farr Out Deliveries, who were founded during the first coronavirus lockdown. It’s now been announced that green logistics firm Zedify is to open an Edinburgh delivery hub, having received £50,000 in funding.

Zedify is a UK network of 10 urban delivery hubs, the most recent of which was opened in Bristol last month.

The system sees HGVs and vans drop off goods before entering city centres so that last mile logistics can be undertaken by e-cargo bikes.

Zedify says that combining this with a same-day service for local deliveries makes its routes more efficient.

Post and Parcel reports that the Edinburgh depot, which opens this spring, is being supported by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) with money from the Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund and the European Union Interreg North Sea project (SURFLOGH).

SEStran Chair Councillor Gordon Edgar said: "Increasingly we see a strong appetite for moving more goods by sustainable means as well as evidence that consolidation is currently being undertaken successfully by operators like Zedify.

“This willingness can be exploited by exploring opportunities to enhance and introduce infrastructure that will facilitate modal shift, as well as building on consolidation efforts by providing facilities that enable multiple loads to be transported on the ‘last mile’ by a single vehicle or cycle logistics.

“Innovative initiatives like our partnership with Zedify have the potential to not only make a significant positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of those who live in the region but also economic growth."