Description of local environment

Air quality

No Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) are located within 300m of the scheme (Scottish Air Quality).

There are no Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) located within 10km of the scheme (Air quality in Scotland).

There are no sites within 10km of the scheme 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 scheme:

  • There are 23 entries on the National Records of the Historic Environment and Historic Environment Records located within 300m of the scheme. Two of these records lie within the works area however these are records relating to the construction of the trunk road 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 construction of the A82 trunk road and associated infrastructure will likely have exposed any potential items of cultural heritage interest present within the upper engineered layers, and as such, the likelihood of presence of undiscovered features is considered low. Due to the absence of significant cultural heritage records within the proposed works area, this topic has been scoped out and is not considered further in this RoD.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme lies 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 scheme does not lie within a National Park (NP) or any other site designated for its landscape character and quality (SiteLink).

The scheme lies 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 scheme (HLA):

  • Rough grazing

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 trunk road boundary.

The Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area (SPA) (10113) is also located adjacent to the trunk road boundary.

The scheme also lies adjacent to the Glen Coe Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (731).

Additionally, the scheme lies within the Glencoe National Nature Reserve (NNR) (10532).

A search of the National Biodiversity Network Atlas (NBN Atlas) within a search area of 2km during the last ten-year period held the following records of invasive and injurious plant species (as listed in the NMC):

  • Common ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)

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 scheme.

There are no ancient woodlands (Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland) located within 300m of the scheme.

There are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) located within 300m of the scheme (Highland Council).

Habitat surrounding the scheme is almost exclusively comprised of temperate shrub heathland.

A preliminary ecological appraisal (PEA) was carried out in November 2023.

Geology and soils

As noted above in the “Biodiversity” section, the scheme lies partially within the Glen Coe SSSI (731), designated for Caledonian igneous geology and fluvial geomorphology of Scotland.

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 rhyolitic lava and rhyolitic tuff 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 peaty gleys with dystrophic blanket peat and the area is recorded on the Carbon and Peatland 2016 map as “Class 5” which indicates peat soil with no peatland vegetation (Scotland’s Soils).

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are necessary to resurface worn-out carriageways, requiring binder inlay, reinstatement of road markings and studs, and re-cutting of drainage grips. 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 as well as material cut from drainage grips. 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). Grip material will be retained on site.

Coal tar has not been highlighted as being present within the scheme.

The values of the scheme does not exceed £350,000; therefore, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is not required.

Noise and vibration

The works do not fall within a candidate noise management area (CNMA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (Road Maps) Transportation Noise Action Plan 2024-2028).

Noise modelled data from Environmental Noise Directive (END) Round 4 Noise Mapping indicates 24 hour annual average noise level for during the day, evening and night (Lden) between 65 and 75dB on the A82 at the scheme location (SpationalData.gov).

Given the location of the scheme in a highly rural location, it is considered likely that the baseline noise levels will be generally low, with road traffic on the A82 providing the primary source of noise.

Population and human health

There are no residential or commercial properties within 300m of the scheme.

There is one set of laybys within the scheme extents as well as some footpaths that connect the laybys to a nearby viewing point. In addition, the Lairig Eilde car park is located at the eastern scheme extent, and the area is known to be popular with tourists. There are no bus stops, cycle lanes, or other non-motorised user (NMU) facilities within the scheme.

There are no Core Paths, National Cycle Network routes (OSMaps), nor any routes designated by WalkHighlands within 300m of the scheme.

The nearest Transport Scotland count point (ID: JTC08343) on the A82 is located approximately 8.5km west of the scheme and in 2024 records an Average Daily Traffic of 4,694 with 8% comprised of heavy goods vehicles.

Road drainage and the water environment

The River Coe (ID: 20325) is channelled underneath the A82 within the scheme extents and was classified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in 2024 as being in ’High’ condition under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) (SEPA).

The scheme lies entirely within the Upper Glen Coe groundwater body (ID: 150693) which was classified by SEPA in 2023 as being in ‘Good’ condition under the WFD, and is also a Drinking Water Protected Area (Ground).

The scheme lies partially within areas assigned a surface flood risk of “High” (SEPA Flood Map).

Road drainage within the scheme is provided via a mixture of beany block kerbing, filter drains, and 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.

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.