Description of local environment
Air quality
No Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) are located within 300m of the schemes (Scottish Air Quality).
There are no Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) located within 10km of the schemes (Air quality in Scotland).
There are no sites within 10km of the schemes which are registered for air emissions on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) (Scotland’s Environment).
Baseline air quality is likely to be good and primarily influenced by traffic along the A82 carriageway, with secondary sources likely to arise from land management activities within the surrounding area.
Cultural heritage
A search of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) mapping tool PastMap records the following cultural heritage features within 300m of the schemes:
- There is a total of 41 entries on the National Records of the Historic Environment and Historic Environment Records located within 300m of the schemes. One of these records lies within the works area of Allt na Reigh; however, this is a record of a historic gun emplacement and as such will not be impacted by the works.
There are no Scheduled Monuments, Battlefields, Garden and Designed Landscapes, Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, or World Heritage Sites within 300m of the scheme extents.
The works are confined to the trunk road boundary. As such, construction of the A82 is likely to have removed any archaeological remains that may have been present within the area and therefore, ‘cultural heritage’ is scoped out and is not discussed further within this Record of Determination (RoD).
Landscape and visual effects
The schemes lie entirely within the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area (NSA; 9120). This site is designated for the following Special Qualities:
- A land of mountain grandeur
- A land of classic highland vistas
- Human settlement dwarfed by mountain and moorland
- The expansive Moor of Rannoch
- The spectacular drama of Glen Coe
- The wooded strath of lower Glen Coe
- The narrow and enclosed Loch Leven
- The impressive massif of Ben Nevis
- The wild Mamores and secretive Glen Nevis
- The fjord-like upper Loch Leven
- Long and green Glen Etive
- The dark heritage
The schemes lie within the “Mountain Massif - Lochaber” Landscape Character Type (LCT) which is noted for the following key characteristics:
- Grey craggy peaks of vast and imposing scale with sweeping concave slopes of steep, smooth rock faces which plummet into glaciated valleys.
- Strong visual force created by the slope profile and accentuated by fans of scree and bracken, which draws the eye up and down the slopes.
- Typical glacial forms such as aretes and carries within the hills, and moraine and erratics along the glen floors.
- Dense patches of coniferous woodland along the base and sides of the glens, often broken by brown plots of clear-felled forest.
- Deep rocky clefts within the hillside carved and highlighted by silvery burns and shadows, sometimes packed with birch trees, forming meandering mossy veins on the rock face.
- Glens affording a small scale refuge from the vast mountainous masses and often containing roads, footpaths, settlement and picnic areas.
- Rivers along the glen floor that are wide and shingly near the mouth, steep and rocky higher up the glen; these are often highlighted by clumps of alder, rowan and birch.
- Single track roads, often with dead ends, small bridges and stone dykes, concentrated along the small scale glens; their scale provides a contrast to the experience of the vast scale of the landscape.
The following land uses are recorded within 300m of the schemes (HLA):
- Rough grazing
- Smallholdings
The A82 Trunk Road, within the North West Network Management Contract (NMC), connects Alexandria with Crianlarich, Fort William and Inverness. It commences immediately north of Tullichewan Roundabout in Alexandria leading generally northwards for a distance of 243 kilometres to its junction with the A9 at (but excluding) Longman Roundabout in Inverness. The A82 is predominantly single carriageway along its length, with some lengths of ‘2+1’ carriageway. The A82 is a single carriageway within the scheme extent.
Biodiversity
The Glen Coe Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (8264) is located directly adjacent to the A82 trunk road boundary at both scheme locations.
The Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area (SPA) (10113) is also located directly adjacent to the A82 trunk road boundary at both scheme locations.
The schemes also lie adjacent to the Glen Coe Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (731).
Both schemes lie within the Glencoe National Nature Reserve (NNR) (10532).
A search of Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) records no instances of invasive non-native species (INNS) or injurious weeds within 300m of the schemes.
There are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) located within 300m of the schemes (Highland Council).
There are no ancient woodlands (Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland) located within 300m of the schemes.
Numerous bird species were recorded on NBN 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, with certain species receiving additional protections.
The NBN atlas holds the following records of invasive and injurious plants (as listed in the NMC) under the same search criteria and 2km buffer:
- Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium)
- Common ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
Habitat surrounding the schemes is almost exclusively comprised of temperate shrub heathland.
Geology and soils
As noted above in the “Biodiversity” section, the schemes lie adjacent to the Glen Coe SSSI designated for Caledonian igneous geology, fluvial geomorphology of Scotland and mass movement.
There are no Geological Conservation Review Sites (GCRSs) located within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink).
Bedrock geology at the scheme is recorded as a mixture of augite-andesitic lava of the Glencoe Volcanic Formation and porphyritic microdiorite of the Etive Dyke Swarm. No superficial deposits are present at this location (British Geological Society).
Soil classification within the scheme extent is recorded as a mixture of humus-iron podzols and peaty gleys with dystrophic blanket peat. The area is recorded on the Carbon and Peatland 2016 map as a mixture of “Class 5” which indicates peat soil with no peatland vegetation and “Class 0” which indicates mineral soil with no peat associations (Scotland’s Soils).
Material assets and waste
The proposed works are necessary to resurface worn-out carriageways, requiring binder inlay, and reinstatement of road markings and studs. Materials used will consist of:
- Asphaltic material
- Bituminous emulsion bond coat
- Milled in road studs
- Thermoplastic road marking paint
Wastes are anticipated to be primarily planings from the carriageway surface course. All road planings will be treated in line with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Low Risk Waste Activity (LRWA) 3 and will be recycled in line with SEPA’s Guidance for End-of-Waste for Recycled Aggregates (WAS-G-DEF-05).
Coal tar has not been highlighted as being present within the schemes.
The values of the individual schemes do not exceed £350,000; therefore, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is not required.
Noise and vibration
A search of Scotland's Noise Map returned records for noise levels during the night (LNGT) within the A82 and its verges between 65 and 75dB.
The schemes do not fall within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) 2024-2028.
Due to the generally rural location of the schemes, it is considered likely that the baseline noise levels will be low, with noise mainly influenced by vehicles travelling along the A82.
Population and human health
There is a single farm (with associated outbuildings) located approximately 240m west of the North of Three Sisters Car Park scheme. There also is one unpaved layby located within the scheme extents. There are no residential or commercial properties within 300m of the Allt na Reigh scheme, and there are no footpaths, bike lanes, local access roads, or other non-motorised user facilities within either scheme.
There is a single Core Path located 35m south of the Three Sisters Car Park scheme and a single Core Path 250m west of the Allt na Reigh scheme.
The nearest Transport Scotland count point (ID: JTC08343) on the A82 is located approximately 6.5km west of the schemes at their nearest point and in 2024 records an Average Daily Traffic of 4,694 with 8% comprised of heavy goods vehicles.
There are no National Cycle Network routes (OSMaps) within 300m of either scheme.
There are three routes listed on WalkHighlands within 300m of the Allt na Reigh scheme with the nearest located 90m north of the scheme. None lie within 300m of the North of Three Sisters Car Park scheme.
Road drainage and the water environment
The River Coe (ID: 20325) is located 20m south of Allt na Reigh and160m south of North of Three Sisters Car Park at their nearest points and was classified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in 2024 as being in ’Good’ condition (SEPA).
The schemes lie entirely within the Upper Glen Coe groundwater body (ID: 150693) which was classified by SEPA in 2024 as being in ‘Good’ condition and is also a Drinking Water Protected Area (Ground).
A number of small watercourses are channelled under the A82 within both scheme extents.
Both schemes lie partially within areas assigned a surface flood risk of “High” (SEPA Flood Map).
Road drainage within both schemes is facilitated by direct run-off.
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.