Description of local environment

Air quality

There are no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within 10km of the scheme extents.

There are no registered sites on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) located within 10km of the scheme.

There are no Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) within 10km of the scheme extents.

Due to the rural location of the works, baseline air quality is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic travelling along the A82; with secondary sources likely derived by the nearby land management activities.

Cultural heritage

The following cultural heritage features are recorded within 300m of the scheme (PastMap):

  • One scheduled monument, ‘Crusader, Remains of Jet-Powered Boat’, lies approximately 260m southeast of scheme extents in Loch Ness.
  • Several features of lesser cultural significance (i.e. Historic Environment Record (HER) and National Record of the Historic Environment (NHRE) sites); the closest of which, ‘Loch Ness, Lower Lenie, John Cobb Memorial’, which lies within the A82 trunk road boundary within scheme extents.

There are no Conservation Areas, Battlefields, World Heritage Sites, Garden and Designed Landscapes, or Listed Buildings within 300m of the scheme extent (PastMap).

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 as such ‘cultural heritage’ is scoped out and is not discussed further within this RoD.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme is not located within any National Park (NP), National Scenic Area (NSA) or any other site designated for its landscape character and visual effects (SiteLink).

The scheme is located on a rural stretch of the A82, on the western bank of Loch Ness and approximately 4km south of Drumnadrochit. The surrounding land is dominated by mixed woodland, including forestry plantations, exposed rock slopes, and freshwater habitat with Loch Ness providing a dominant landscape feature.

The scheme lies within the Landscape Character Type (LCT) ‘Broad Steep-Sided Glen (LCT No.225), which has the following key characteristics:

  • A clearly defined, broad, linear, steep sided, V-shaped glen and deep loch cutting through mountains and hills, with limited areas of flatter ground.
  • Large-scale conifer forests with small areas of open moorland covering most of the glen sides, particularly the lower slopes.
  • Small patches of broad leaved woodlands, mostly in side glens and close to the shore.
  • Agricultural land on less steep slopes, glen intersections and alluvial plains.
  • A few settlements, with a well-defined core, located at glen intersections and on gentler slopes, separated by long stretches of relatively uninhabited land.
  • Contrast between the busy trunk road and larger settlements on the west side and the quiet minor road on east side which has fewer settlements separated by large undeveloped areas.
  • Strong evidence of past settlement in the number and diversity of archaeological and historic sites from prehistoric times to the 20th Century.
  • Contrast between the visual and seasonal diversity of broadleaf woodland and bright, open pockets of farmland and the forested and moorland surroundings.
  • Contrast between the smaller scale landscapes of settled, lower slopes and the large scale moorland and forested backdrop.
  • A simple linear and enclosed visual composition of bands of land, water and sky, with long skylines of even height, and the glen and loch as unifying features.
  • Visual focus directed along the linear route of the glen or across the water to the opposite shore and up to the skyline.

The A82 trunk road, within the North West, 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 a single carriageway along its length, with some lengths of ‘2+1’ carriageway. The A82 is a single carriageway throughout the scheme extents.

Biodiversity

The scheme lies approximately 1.7km west of the Ness Woods Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (Site ID: 8337). No other European sites lie within 2km of, or hold ecological connectivity with scheme extents.

Inverfarigaig Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (Site ID: 813) is a component of the Ness Woods SAC which overlaps with the SAC approximately 1.7km southeast of the scheme.

There are no other locally or nationally designated sites for biodiversity features within 300m of the scheme.

The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas holds several records of bird species within 2km of the schemes (only including records during the past ten years and of open-use attributions (OGL, CC0, CC-BY). Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), all wild birds and their active nests are protected, with certain species receiving additional protections.

The NBN Atlas also holds the following records of invasive non-native species (INNS) of plant (denoted by *) and injurious weeds (as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC)) under the same criteria:

  • Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius)
  • Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense)
  • Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)*
  • Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)*
  • Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium)

A search using Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) recorded no instances of INNS of plants or injurious weeds within the scheme extent.

Habitat in the surrounding area is dominated by mixed woodland, including forestry plantations, areas of exposed rock slopes; and freshwater habitat.

Areas of woodland as listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) overlap the entirety of the scheme extent, with several other areas within 300m. Woodlands in proximity to the scheme are listed as both ‘ancient (of semi-natural origin)’ and ‘other (on Roy map)’.

There are no areas of trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) by Highland Council within 300m of the scheme.

Geology and soils

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

Component soils throughout the scheme extent comprise of humus-iron podzols with peaty gleyed podzols (Scotland’s Soils).

Soils in the area around the scheme extent are comprised of ‘Class 0’ mineral soils, and peatland habitats are not typically found on such soils (Carbon and Peatland Map 2016).

Bedrock geology within the scheme is recorded as ‘Mealfuarvonie Sandstone Member’ (Sandstone) (BGS Geology Viewer).

Superficial deposits within the scheme consist of till – diamicton (BGS Geology Viewer).

Material assets and waste

The resurfacing works are required to replace worn surface and general maintenance of the A82 trunk road. Materials used will consist of:

  • Asphaltic material (AC32/AC20/TS2010)
  • Bituminous emulsion bond coat
  • Milled in road studs
  • Thermoplastic road marking paint
  • Replacement bollards

Wastes are anticipated to be removed planings from the surface course, which will be recovered for re-use in line with BEAR Scotland’s Procedure 126: The Production of Fully Recovered Asphalt Road Planings. Additionally, ditching material will likely be left on site, with old bollards to be removed from site and disposed of appropriately. Any ditching waste remaining on-site must follow the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Low Risk Waste Activity (LRWA) 9, details of which will be listed below.

There is no requirement for a site compound.

As the scheme value is greater than £350,000 (approximately £600,000); a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is required to be in place for works.

No coal tar has been highlighted within the scheme extent during investigation works.

Noise and vibration

For residential, community and commercial receptors refer to the ‘Population and Human Health’ section below.

The works do not fall within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) as defined by Transport Scotland’s Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) 2024-2028.

Modelled noise data for the A82 at the scheme extent shows that the day, evening and night levels (Lden) fall between 67-72dB (Scotland's Noise).

Due to the rural location of the scheme, baseline noise levels are likely to be primarily influenced by traffic travelling along the A82; with secondary sources derived from nearby land management activities.

Population and human health

There are six residential and/or commercial properties within 300m of the scheme extent; the closest lies approximately 25m west of the scheme and is screened from the A82 by an intervening woodland belt.

An access point to one property and one layby lie within the A82 carriageway within scheme extent.

There are no pedestrian footways, street lighting, parking areas or bus stops within the scheme extent.

There are no National Cycle Routes, Core Paths, or walking routes designated by WalkHighlands within 300m of the scheme.

In 2025, the annual average daily flow (AADF) of traffic was recorded on the A82 trunk road within scheme extents (Site ID: JTC00145) accounted for 3,856 vehicles, with 22.1% of these heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) (Transport Scotland Traffic Count Data).

TM will involve full night-time road closure with regular amnesties and the control of junctions where required.

Road drainage and the water environment

The scheme extent and surrounding area is underpinned by the Inverness groundwater (ID: 150670). This is 413.7 square kilometres in area and in 2024, was assigned an overall condition of ‘good’ by SEPA under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (SEPA).

Loch Ness is a lake (ID: 100156) in the River Ness catchment of the Scotland river basin district. It is 55.3 square kilometres in area and lies approximately 10m east of the scheme at its closest point. In 2024, Loch Ness was assigned an overall condition of ‘good’ by SEPA under the WFD (SEPA).

Several unclassified waterbodies are culverted under the A82 and discharge into Loch Ness within scheme extents (SEPA).

SEPA Flood Map has highlighted a medium risk of surface water and small watercourses flooding (i.e. a 0.5% chance of flooding each year) within the A82 carriageway at the scheme extent.

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).