Description of local environment

Air quality

A search of the Air Quality in Scotland online mapping tool records that the scheme extents are not located within an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

The scheme is located within the ‘Argyll and Bute’ council boundary area, which currently has no AQMA within its administrative boundary. There are no AQMAs associated with other Local Authorities located within 10km of the scheme.

Sites monitoring air quality in the wider areas records bandings to be within the ‘green zone’ (Low Index 1-3).

There are no sites on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) with air pollutant releases within 10km of the scheme.

The baseline air quality within the scheme extents is primarily influenced by motor vehicles travelling along the A83 trunk road and construction associated with the RaBT landslip remediation works.

Cultural heritage

No Listed Buildings, Garden & Designed Landscapes, Scheduled Monuments, Conservation Areas, Inventory Battlefields or World Heritage sites were identified within 300m of the scheme (PastMap).

There are two Historic Environment Records (HERs) within 300m of the scheme: the ‘Dumbarton - Tarbet - Inveraray - Tyndrum Military Road’ which lies 100m south of the trunk road and ‘Walkover Survey: Rest And Be Thankful, Argyll’ which details an archaeological survey conducted on the adjacent Scottish Ministers’ land uphill of the A83 at the scheme extents.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme is situated within Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (LLTNP) (NatureScot Site Code: 8621). LLTNP is designated for the following general special qualities:

  • A world-renowned landscape famed for its rural beauty
  • Wild and rugged highlands contrasting with pastoral lowlands
  • Water in its many forms
  • The rich variety of woodlands
  • Settlements nestled within a vast natural backdrop
  • Famous through-routes
  • Tranquillity
  • The easily accessible landscape splendour

There are no National Scenic Areas (NSA) located within 300m of the scheme.

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the study area is ‘Upland Glens – Loch Lomond & the Trossachs’ (no. 252) (Scottish Landscape Character Types), which has the following key characteristics:

  • Often narrow with little flat glen floor, strongly enclosed by steep hill slopes of the adjacent Steep Ridges and Hills and Highland Summits.
  • Steep glen sides often patterned with rocky outcrops, boulders and screes but also extensively forested, particularly on lower slopes.
  • Tributary burns and rivers cut deep gullies into slopes and many feature waterfalls and cascades, pools and rocky outcrops.
  • Walled pastures sometimes occasionally occurring on lower (usually south-facing) slopes. Heather covers better drained areas and bright green flushes appear at spring lines on hill slopes.
  • Some glens covered with extensive coniferous forestry.
  • Notable ancient and semi-ancient woodlands of oak and birch in some glens, Natural regeneration of scrub woodland where grazing has declined as in the Luss Glens.
  • Relict wood pasture and Caledonian pine woodlands evident in some areas,
  • Scattered trees and native woodland trace the edges of burns.
  • Sparsely settled but with some isolated farms in lower reaches of glens, these often south-facing.
  • Significant cultural features in more open glens, including shielings and abandoned field systems.
  • Areas of crofting evident on some lower slopes.
  • Some important historic strategic routes for communications and accommodate key road and rail links today for example.
  • Classic views channelled up and down the Glens, with steep side slopes framing landscapes that lie beyond them.

The scheme is located within a rural glen with peaks either side of the scheme, with highly engineered areas (i.e. fencing, netting, pits etc) on the slope directly northeast of scheme extents. The slope downstream of the scheme is prone to erosion but subject to much fewer engineering installations.

The A83 Trunk Road connects Tarbet with Lochgilphead, Kennacraig and Campbeltown. It commences at the A82 / A83 junction within Tarbet leading generally south-westwards for a distance of 158 kilometres to (and including) its junction with New Quay Street at the Campbeltown Ferry Terminal. The A83 is a single carriageway in proximity to the scheme.

Biodiversity

Glen Etive and Glen Fyne SPA lies 2.7km north of the scheme. There are no other European Sites within 2km of the scheme or sites in the wider area which have connectivity to the proposed works.

There are no locally or nationally designated sites (i.e. Sites of Special Interest (SSSI), National/Local Nature Reserves) within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink).

The NBN Atlas did not return records of invasive or injurious plant species (as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC)) under the same search criteria. Similarly, the Transport Scotland Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) also did not identify invasive or injurious plant species within 300m of the scheme.

The habitat in proximity to the scheme is dominated by rough upland grasslands, conifer woodland and freshwater habitat such as lochs and upland watercourses. Much of the land directly adjacent to the A83 is heavily engineered with large fencing and netting due to high landslide risk on this slope.

There are no areas of woodland listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland which lie within 300m of the scheme extents.

There are also no areas of woodland or individual trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) within 300m of the scheme extents (LLTNP).

Surveys for protected species and INNS were carried out by the BEAR NW Environment Team in February 2025 at this location ahead of interim works at this culvert outlet. Due to site constraints, this was predominantly undertaken from the A83 carriageway utilising binoculars.

Geology and soils

The A83 within the scheme extents is not located within a Geological Conservation Review Site (GCRS) or SSSI designated for geological features.

Superficial deposit within the scheme extents is comprised of Till (Diamicton) with bedrock of ‘Beinn Bheula Schist formation’ (psammite and pelite), which is a metamorphic bedrock (BGS Geology Viewer).

The local soil type within the scheme extents are noted to be ‘peaty gleyed podzols with peaty gleys with dystrophic semi-confined peat’ (Scotland’s Environment Map).

Soils within the scheme extents are recorded as being ‘Class 3’ (carbon-rich soils with some areas of deep peat) as displayed on Scotland’s Peat Map (Scotland’s Environment Map).

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are required to reduce erosion and undermining risk to the A83 carriageway assets and will require the following materials:

  • Ground anchors
  • Grout
  • Netting (likely Tecco Mesh and Macmat R or similar)

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

Minimum wastes are expected and will mostly consist of soil and stone. Any waste material generated from drilling and regrading will be re-used on site where possible. Wastes arising from the previous solution such as metal plates and mesh will be disposed of at a licenced facility if they cannot be reused.

Noise and vibration

For human noise and vibration receptors, refer to the ‘Population and Human Health’ section below.

Works are not located within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) or Candidate Quiet Areas (CQA).

The modelled 24 hour annual average noise level (LDEN) along the A83 within the scheme extent range between 60 and 70 dB (Scotland’s Noise Scotland’s Environment).

The baseline noise and vibration in the scheme extents is likely to be primarily influenced by vehicles travelling along the A83 trunk road and construction associated with other slope remediation works. Secondary sources may include forestry works on the other side of the glen and tourism associated with the Rest and Be Thankful viewpoint.

Population and human health

The scheme is located within a rural area with no properties lying within 300m of the scheme. The ‘High Glencroe’ property lies 400m southwest of the scheme and is accessed via the Old Military Road.

As the scheme extent is set back slightly from the road, there is no direct vehicular or pedestrian access to the scheme. However, the A83 lies 6m north of the scheme at the closest point and the Old Military Road lies 100m south of the proposed works. Traffic management will be in place in the form of two-way temporary traffic lights with 30mph temporary speed restriction.

There are no National Cycle Network Routes (OS Maps), Core Paths (LLTNP Core Path Plan) or routes listed on WalkHighlands located within 300m of the scheme.

A traffic counter 4.2km east of the scheme (JTC08338) records an Annual Average Daily Traffic flow (AADT) of 4,223 vehicles in 2024, of which 10.8% heavy goods vehicles (Transport Scotland).

Road drainage and the water environment

Croe Water (ID: 10215) is a classified waterbody by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and lies 300m southwest of the scheme. Croe Water has last been classified as having a ‘good’ overall status (2023) (SEPA Water Classification Hub).

Multiple unclassified waterbodies (minor tributaries, including the channel to be addressed by the proposed works) lie within 300m of the scheme and are culverted under the A83.

The scheme is underlain by the ‘Cowal and Lomond’ groundwater body, which was classified by SEPA in 2023 as having overall status of ‘good’ (SEPA Water Classification Hub). The groundwater body is also recorded as a Drinking Water Protected Area (DWPA) (Ground) (Scotland’s Environment).

A search of SEPA Flood Map showed a high (10% chance each year) of flooding 15m upstream of the scheme (SEPA Flood Maps). The channel addressed in the scheme as well as nearby channels are also known to have periodically very high water flow.

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).