Description of local environment

Air quality

There are no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) declared by Highland Council within 300m of the scheme (Air Quality Management Areas).

There is one air quality monitoring site (AQMS) located within 10km of scheme extents; the Fort William AQMS is located approximately 9km southwest of scheme extents and recorded pollution levels as ‘band 2 – low’ at the time of assessment. It is expected that the air pollution readings at the scheme extents will be similarly low or even lower due to the more rural location (Air Quality in Scotland).

One air pollutant release site is listed on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) located within 10km of scheme extents; ‘Liberty Lochaber Aluminium, Lochaber Smelter’ is located approximately 7km southwest of the scheme extents and has records for particulate matter, perfluorocarbons (PCFs) and sulphur oxides (SO₂ and SO₃)

Baseline air quality for this scheme is primarily influenced by traffic along the A82 trunk road.

Cultural heritage

A study using PastMap has highlighted two features, both listed on the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) and Historic Environment Record (HER) databases, within 300m of the scheme; none of these records fall within the scheme extents, with the closest located 100m south of the scheme.

There are no Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Garden & Designed Landscapes, Conservation Areas, Battlefields or World Heritage Sites within 300m of the scheme. 

Construction of the A82 carriageway is likely to have removed any archaeological remains that may have been present within the carriageway boundary. The potential for the presence of unknown archaeological remains in the study area has therefore been assessed to be low. Furthermore, the works will be restricted to previously engineered ground within the A82 trunk road boundary. Therefore, this receptor has no constraints that are likely to be impacted by the proposed works and as such, ‘Cultural Heritage’ is scoped out and is not discussed further within this RoD.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme does not fall within a National Park (NP), National Scenic Area (NSA), or any other site designated for landscape character or quality (SiteLink).

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the study area is ‘Broad Forested Straths’ (LCT. No. 235) (Scottish Landscape Character Types) which has the following key characteristics:

• Broad, low-lying straths with rolling relief and sculptural glacial landforms.
• Simple, large scale mosaic of forested ridges, rolling pastures and heather moorland, but dominated by swathes of forestry.
• A comparatively densely settled landscape with villages, houses and sporadic commercial development.
• Quarries hidden amongst the woodland cover.
• Strong communication and service corridors.
• Long distance views from surrounding hills over the glens, which are framed by steep glen sides.
• Lochs, rivers or canals on glen floor have often been engineered or substantially altered by man.

The A82 carriageway is a prominent linear landscape feature within the area. The road corridor, for example, has a distinct character shaped by fast-flowing traffic, road markings, safety barriers, signage, landscaping, lighting etc. The scale of the carriageway detracts from the quality and character of the wider landscape. The scheme extent is flanked by tree shelterbelts and grazing pastures. Large areas of forestry and agricultural land are located in the wider environment, and a railway line travels parallel to scheme extents, approximately 50m to the south.

The A82 Trunk Road, connects Alexandria with Crianlarich, Fort William and Inverness. It commences immediately north of Tullichewan Roundabout in Alexandria leading generally northwards for 243 kilometres to its junction with the A9 at (but excluding) Longman Roundabout in Inverness. The A82 is predominantly single carriageway along its length (and is such within the scheme), with some lengths of ‘2+1’ carriageway.

Biodiversity

There are no European sites (i.e. Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and RAMSAR sites) within 2km of the scheme (SiteLink).

The scheme extents are located within Parallel Roads of Lochaber Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). For further details refer to section Geology and Soils below. There are no other locally or nationally biological designated sites (i.e. SSSI, National or Local Nature Reserves) which lie within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink).

The NBN Atlas has returned no records of invasive plants or injurious weeds (as listed in the NMC Contract) within 2km of the scheme under the same search criteria as above.

Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) confirmed no records of invasive plant species or injurious weeds (as listed in the NMC Contract) within 300m of the scheme extents.

Habitats surrounding the scheme are dominated by areas of woodland/forestry and grazing pastures, with areas of agricultural and arable land in the wider area. Allt Achadh na Dalach lies approximately 250m to the north of the scheme. The watercourse and its associated tributaries, several of which are culverted beneath the A82 carriageway, constitute a connected freshwater network providing potential habitat for aquatic and riparian species in proximity to the works.

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

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

Geology and soils

The scheme is located within Parallel Roads of Lochaber SSSI (NatureScot Site Code: 1272), which is designated for the earth science features ‘Fluvial Geomorphology of Scotland’ and ‘Quaternary of Scotland’.

The scheme is also located within the Glen Roy and the Parallel Roads of Lochaber Geological Conservation Review Site (GCRS).

Bedrock geology within the scheme is recorded as ‘Fort William Formation’ - a micaceous psammite and semipelite metamorphic bedrock. (BGS Geology Viewer).

Superficial deposits within the scheme are recorded as (BGS Geology Viewer):

• Hummocky (moundy) Glacial Deposits – diamicton, sand and gravel
• Peat

Soils within the scheme are recorded as peaty gleyed podzols with peaty gleys with dystrophic semi-confined peat (Scotland's Soils). Soil surrounding scheme extents are recorded as being of Carbon and Peatland ‘Class 5’, which is associated with carbon-rich soils and deep peat, however, no peatland habitat is recorded (Carbon and Peatland Map).

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are necessary to resurface sections of the A82 carriageway, requiring base/binder inlay, and reinstatement of road markings and studs. Minor kerbing/drainage replacement may also be undertaken. Materials used will consist of:

• Asphaltic material
• Bituminous emulsion bond coat
• Milled in road studs
• Thermoplastic road marking paint
• Pre-cast kerbing
• Gullies

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. The Contractor is responsible for the disposal of road planings and this will be registered in accordance with a Paragraph 13(a) waste exemption issued by SEPA, as described in Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 2011. Any waste kerbing/drainage components will be removed off site for disposal.

The Scheme is valued at £205,000, and as such a site waste management plan (SWMP) is not required. Coal tar has not been highlighted as being present within the scheme extent.

Noise and vibration

A search of the Round 4 Noise Modelled Data shows that the scheme extent is subject to an estimated 60-75dB noise level over a 24-hour period (Lden – day, evening, night) (Scottish Government).

The scheme does not fall within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) (Transportation Noise Action Plan-2019-2023).

Given the rural nature found within the scheme, it is considered that the baseline noise levels within the scheme extents are low to moderate, with noise mainly influenced by vehicles travelling along the A82. Secondary sources are likely to come from forestry or agricultural activities in the wider area.

Population and human health

No residential or commercial properties are located within 300m of the scheme. 

No provisions for non-motorised users (NMUs) are located on the A82 within the scheme extent. There are also no junctions, access roads, bus stops, laybys or parking areas within the scheme extents.

One Core Path (Spean Bridge to Torlundy) is located within 300m of the scheme, however does not meet the A82 carriageway (Highland Council).

There are no National Cycle Network (NCN) routes (OS Maps), or any routes listed on WalkHighlands within 300m of scheme extents.

Traffic Management will involve a full nighttime road closure with regular amnesties in place to allow traffic flow through scheme extents.

Road drainage and the water environment

Allt Achadh na Dalach (ID: 20344) is located approximately 200m north of the scheme. This watercourse was given an overall condition of ‘good’ in 2023 by Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) (Water Classification Hub).

Several minor watercourses/field drains flow within proximity of the scheme, many of which are culverted under the A82 carriageway and discharge in Allt Achadh na Dalach.

The scheme is underlain by the Fort William groundwater body (ID: 150696) which was classified in 2023 as having an overall condition of ‘good’ (Water Classification Hub). This groundwater body is also classed as a ground Drinking Water Protected Area (DWPA) (Scotland’s Environment).

Small areas of the A82 within the scheme extent have a low to high risk of surface water/small watercourse flooding, these areas have a 0.1-10% chance of flooding each year (SEPA Flood Maps).

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).