Description of local environment

Air quality

For properties within 300m of the scheme refer to “Population and Human Health”.

A search of the Air Quality in Scotland online mapping tool records that air quality in the wider bandings to be within the ‘green zone’ (Low Index 1-3).

The scheme is located within the East Lothian Council boundary, which has one active Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within its administrative boundary. The closest AQMA, “High Street, Musselburgh”, is located approximately 7.32km west of the scheme extents and is declared for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

There is one site registered on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) for air pollutant releases within 10km of the scheme extents in the last 10 years. The details are as follows:

  • “East Lothian Eggs at Howden Farm” – In Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia – located approximately 9.7km southwest of the scheme extents.

Baseline air quality within the scheme extents is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic along the A1 carriageway. Secondary sources are most commonly derived from motor vehicles travelling along local network roads, and day-to-day agricultural activities

Cultural heritage

The PastMap and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) online mapping tools record one designated cultural heritage asset within 300m of the scheme extents. The “Battle of Prestonpans” Inventory Battlefield (IB) (ID: BTL16) partially overlaps with the western end of the scheme extents.

Of lesser concern, there are approximately 19 undesignated cultural heritage assets (UCHAs) within 300m of the scheme extents. One of these lies within the scheme extents:

  • “Macmerry Airfield” Historic Environment Record (HER) site (ID: MEL2146), which partially overlaps with the eastern end of the scheme extents

Construction of the A1 is likely to have removed any archaeological remains that may have been present within the trunk road boundary. The potential for the presence of unknown archaeological remains in the study area has therefore been assessed to be low.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme is not located within a National Park (NP) or National Scenic Area (NSA) (SiteLink).

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the scheme extents is categorised as “Lowland Farmed Plain - Lothian” (LCT 275) (Landscape Character Type Map), the key characteristic of which are:

  • Smoothly rolling, large-scale arable plain landforms with occasional igneous intrusions forming local landmarks.
  • Small streams forming shallow breaks in the smooth slopes, feeding into the broad meandering valley of the River Tyne.
  • High quality agricultural land, divided into a chequerboard pattern of fields with historic field pattern being retained in some areas. Field boundaries defined by clipped hedges, scattered hedgerow trees, post and wire fences and occasional stone walls.
  • Occasional small-scale woodlands and shelterbelts relate to watercourses and reinforce field pattern.
  • Policy woodlands, estate houses and, buildings and boundary walls of several estates throughout the area create a historic character.
  • Numerous conservation villages spread throughout the Landscape Character Type with a scattering of farmsteads and small housing clusters, as well as larger settlement of Haddington.
  • Open views across the landscape to Edinburgh, the coast to the north, and hills to the south.

The Historic Land-use Assessment (HLA) classifies the land-use within 300m of the scheme extents as:

  • Motorway and Major Roads,
  • Restored Agricultural Land,
  • Rectilinear Fields and Farms,
  • Industrial or Commercial Area, and
  • Urban Area.

There are no areas of native woodland (Native Woodland Survey) or ancient woodland (Ancient Woodland Inventory) within 300m of the scheme extents.

There are several areas of unclassified woodland within the vicinity of the scheme extents:

  • Three areas of semi-mature broadleaved woodland, totalling approximately 3.25ha located adjacent to the south of the A1 carriageway within the scheme extents.
  • Two areas of semi-mature broadleaved woodland, totalling approximately 3ha, are located adjacent to the A1 southbound, approximately 15m north of the scheme extents.
  • Approximately 0.3ha of semi-mature broadleaved woodland/shrubland located approximately 135m west of the scheme extents.

There are no individual trees or areas of woodland covered by a tree preservation order (TPO) within 300m of the scheme extents.

The existing trunk road is a prominent linear landscape feature. The trunk road corridor, for example, has a distinct character shaped by fast-flowing traffic, road markings, safety barriers, signage, landscaping, etc. The scale of the trunk road detracts from the quality and character of the wider landscape.

Biodiversity

There are no European Sites designated for nature conservation i.e. Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), or Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), located within 2km of the scheme extents. However, the scheme lies within buffer zones for the Firth of Forth SPA and Ramsar Site, Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex SPA, and Fala Flow SPA and Ramsar Site.

There are no Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) designated for biodiversity features within 300m of, or which share connectivity to the scheme.

The Firth of Forth, and Fala Flow SPAs and Ramsar Sites have component SSSIs.

There are no Local Nature Conservation Sites (LNCSs) within 300m of the scheme extents.

The NBN atlas also holds records of numerous bird species within 2km over a ten-year period. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) (WCA), all wild birds and their active nests are protected.

The NBN atlas holds no records of invasive and injurious plants (as listed in the Network Management Contract).

A search of the Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) online mapping tool records no instances of INNS, injurious weeds, or invasive native perennials.

The habitat immediately bordering the A1 within the scheme extents consists primarily of agricultural fields bordered by hedgerows, with some small areas of woodland and industrial land at the eastern extents. While there is some availability of roadside vegetation, habitat immediately bordering the A1 carriageway is assessed to be of reduced ecological value, due to the high likelihood of disturbances from high volume, fast-flowing traffic and that the A1 carriageway limits the connectivity and continuity for species between their potential habitats on either side of the road.

Geology and soils

There are no geological SSSIs or Geological Conservation Review Sites within 300m of the scheme extents (SiteLink).

There are no local geodiversity sites (LGSs) within 300m of the scheme extents.

The major soil groups within the scheme extents are classified as “Gleys”, and “Brown soils”. The generalised soil types are classified as “Mineral gleys”, and “Brown soils” (Scotland’s Soils).

Bedrock geology in the scheme extents is classified as “Limestone Coal Formation - Sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.” with superficial deposits of “Till, Devensian - Diamicton.” (British Geology Viewer).

There is no evidence of historical industrial processes or the storage of hazardous materials that could have given rise to significant land contamination.

Given the restriction of the works to the A1 carriageway boundary, and the lack of any excavation works, local geology and soils are unlikely to be affected by the proposed works. Therefore, geology and soils has been scoped out of further environmental assessment.

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are required due to deterioration of the carriageway surface. Materials used will consist of:

  • TS2010 10mm Site Class 1.
  • AC20 Dense Binder 40/60.
  • Tack/Bond coat, paving grade bitumen to seal vertical faces.
  • Eurolite Thermoplastic Road Markings.
  • Embedded Road Studs.

As the value of the scheme is greater than £350,000, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is required for these works.

The 1.9km scheme involves the removal of surface course, base and binder course. In total, approximately 5,620 tonnes of bituminous material (European Waste Catalogue Code: 17 03 02) will be removed from site, none of which is classified as hazardous material containing coal tar.

Noise and vibration

There are commercial and residential receptors within 300m of the scheme extents. For further details see “Population and Human Health”.

The works do not fall within a candidate noise management area (CNMA) or candidate quiet area (CQA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP).

The night-time modelled noise levels (Lnight) within the scheme extents range between 60 decibels (dB) and 70 dB, decreasing to between 50dB and 60dB at the nearest noise sensitive receptor (commercial) (Noise Map Viewer).

Baseline noise and vibration in the study area is mainly influenced by vehicles traveling along the A1 carriageway. Secondary sources are derived from vehicles travelling along nearby local network roads and day-to-day land management activities

Population and human health

There are several commercial and residential properties, and one farmstead property within 300m of the scheme extents. The closest property to the scheme extents is a commercial property located approximately 52m southeast of the scheme extents. The property is partially screened from the scheme extents by the roadside shelterbelt. The nearest residential property is located approximately 210m south of the scheme extents and it is well screened from the scheme extents by the roadside shelterbelt and by a treeline which borders the properties.

There are no local access roads or street lighting within the scheme extents.

There are three core paths located within 300m of the scheme extents, their details are as follows:

  • Core Path 132 passes below the A1 carriageway towards the western side of the scheme extents.
  • Core Path 456 passes over the A1 carriageway via Greendykes Farm Overbridge at the eastern side of the scheme extents.
  • Core path 455 is located approximately 210m south of the scheme extents at its closest point.

The scheme extents are located within the A1 carriageway, which has a speed limit of 70mph throughout. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) flow is high (32,234 motor vehicles (ID: JTC08407, 2025 data)) (Transport Scotland).

Road drainage and the water environment

There are no SEPA classified waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents.

There are approximately eight unclassified waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents. Of these, five have connectivity to the scheme extents. Their details are as follows:

  • “Drain 1” is a drainage waterbody located to the east side of the scheme extents. It is culverted below, and extends adjacent to, the A1 carriageway within the scheme extents.
  • “Drain 2” and “Drain 3” are drainage waterbodies located adjacent to the south of the A1 carriageway within the scheme extents. They are located at the west and middle of the scheme extents respectively.
  • “Drain 4” is a very small drainage waterbody located adjacent to the south of the A1 carriageway within the scheme extents. It is located east of Drain 2.
  • “Drain 5” is a drainage waterbody located approximately 20m north of the scheme extents at its closest point, adjacent to the north of the A1 southbound carriageway.

These waterbodies are too small (in terms of catchment area) to be classified as main stem waterbodies by SEPA under the WFD.

A search of the SEPA Flood Map online mapping tool shows one area of increased flood risk within the scheme extents. It is an area of primarily medium likelihood flooding with a small area of low likelihood flooding. This means it has a 0.5% chance and 0.1% chance of flooding each year respectively.

The scheme is located within the “Gorebridge” (ID: 150633) groundwater basin. It was classified as having a “Poor” overall status in 2023 by SEPA.

A search of the Scotland's Environment (SE) determined that the trunk road, within the scheme extents, does not lie within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).

Climate

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (‘The Act’), and its subsequent amendment under the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, sets the framework for the Scottish Government to address climate change. The Act has an ambitious target to reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, with any residual emissions balanced by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is five years earlier than the rest of the UK due to the greater potential for carbon sequestration in Scotland. 

The Act was amended to replace interim targets with carbon budgets. Carbon budgets are legally binding caps on greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland over five-year periods. In line with the Act, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) published advice on the level of Scotland’s four carbon budgets, covering the period 2026 to 2045, recommending what the Scottish Government sets its carbon budgets at for annual average levels of emissions. These recommendations are based on an ambitious but credible route to Net Zero for Scotland by 2045. 

Emissions reductions from surface transport are the largest contribution to meeting the first two carbon budgets. The pathway for surface transport emission reduction is primarily driven by the uptake of electric vehicles, in addition to measures to enable a shift from car use to public transport and active travel, which all play a role in reducing emissions from fossil fuel cars. Ensuring efficiency of existing transport infrastructure and improving/providing new active travel facilities is therefore important to support these carbon reduction budgets. 

Transport is the largest contributor to harmful climate emissions in Scotland. In response to the climate emergency, Transport Scotland are committed to reducing their emissions by 75% by 2030 and to the above noted legally binding target of net-zero by 2045. Transport Scotland is committed to reducing carbon across Scotland’s transport network and this commitment is being enacted through the Mission Zero for Transport (Mission Zero for transport | Transport Scotland).