Description of local environment

Air quality

The scheme lies within the Perth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) which is declared for particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The nearest air quality monitoring station is located 3.2km south of the scheme with all measured pollutant levels recorded as ‘low’ at the time of search (Scottish Air Quality)

There are six sites within 10km of the scheme listed on the Scottish Pollution Release Inventory (SPRI). The closest to the scheme is ‘ABP UK’ which lies 600m west of the scheme and is registered for releases of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC).

Baseline air quality in the study area is likely to be primarily influenced by vehicles travelling along the A9 trunk road. Secondary influences are likely derived from activities/movements associated with the city of Perth, and the nearby Inveralmond industrial estate and North Muirton industrial estate.

Cultural heritage

The Bertha Roman Fort Scheduled Monument lies 50m northeast of the northern scheme extent and the old Almond Bridge Listed Building (Category B) lies 120m west of the scheme (PastMap).

The following features are recorded within the scheme but receive no statutory protection:

  • National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) ‘New Almond road bridge and graffiti’ which describes the current A9 road bridge.
  • Historic Environment Record (HER) ‘Bertha Roman cemetery’ which overlaps the A9 along the banks of the River Almond.

No Conservation Areas, Battlefields, Gardens and Designated Landscapes, or World Heritage sites were identified within 300m of the scheme (PastMap).

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme does not lie within any National Parks or National Scenic Areas (SiteLink).

The A9 Trunk Road connects Perth with Thurso. It commences immediately north of Inveralmond Roundabout in Perth leading generally northwards for a distance of 357 kilometres to its junction with an unclassified road leading to Holborn Head lighthouse at Scrabster. The A9 is a mixture of single carriageway, ‘2+1’ carriageway and stretches of two-lane dual carriageway. The A9 is a dual carriageway within the scheme extent.

Land use surrounding the scheme consist of industrial estates and urban land to the south, transitioning to more agricultural use and broadleaf woodland to the north. The Landscape Character Type within the scheme is recorded as ‘381 - Lowland River Corridors - Tayside’ (NatureScot).

Key characteristics are listed as:

  • Well-defined river corridors in broader lowland landscapes, with the River Tay
  • corridor being more expansive and open than the smaller scale, intimate, enclosed River Almond corridor.
  • Meandering, often incised course through softer sandstones.
  • Rapids, weirs and mills where harder rocks cross the valleys.
  • Mill settlements close to rapids and weirs, and some historic houses and designed landscapes in riverside locations.
  • Steep winding minor roads
  • Woodland is an essential landscape component with semi-natural broadleaf
  • woodland on steeper incised slopes, and conifer forests or policy woodlands
  • extending to the river’s edge.
  • Arable and pasture fields on higher ground either sides of the rivers, with network of hedges and hedgerow trees.
  • Relatively concealed within the wider landscape.

Biodiversity

The River Almond, which forms part of the River Tay SAC, is spanned by the A9 Inveralmond Bridge.

No other locally or nationally designated sites with biodiversity features (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Local Nature Reserves or National Nature Reserves) are located within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink).

The NBN Atlas was also searched using the same criteria for invasive non-native species (INNS) of plants, native invasive plant species and injurious weeds. No invasive or injurious plant species were recorded within the scheme extents; however the following INNS were recorded along the River Almond with the closest record within 200m of the scheme:

  • Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica)
  • Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) holds records of Himalayan balsam within the verges of the A9 50m north of the scheme.

Woodland along the River Almond either side of A9 is listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland as being ‘long established (of plantation origin)’ (Scotland’s Environment).

There are no Tree Preservation Orders within 300m of the scheme (Perth and Kinross Council).

Habitats surrounding the scheme include a mix of woodland types, agricultural land, the River Almond and the River Tay which provide freshwater corridors through the landscape.

A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal and Preliminary Roost Assessment (PEA and PRA) was conducted by the BEAR Scotland Environment Team on 14/01/2025. Himalayan balsam was noted along the banks of the River Almond which is spanned by the bridge.

Geology and soils

The scheme does not lie within a geologically designated SSSI or Geological Conservation Review Site (SiteLink).

Soil within the scheme is recorded as mineral alluvial soils with peaty alluvial soils. The area is classed as Carbon and Peatland ‘Class 0’, which relates to mineral soils where peatland habitats are not typically found (Scotland’s Soils).

Bedrock geology within the scheme is recorded as sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation, with superficial deposits of alluvium- clay, silt, sand and gravel (BGS).

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are necessary to replace the outdated VRS and parapets. Materials used will consist of:

  • VRS Safety Barrier
  • Non-connecting transitions
  • P4 terminals
  • Concrete

Wastes generated are anticipated to be cleared vegetation and soil from installation of the VRS, and old barriers/parapets.

A Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is not required.

Key plant required is anticipated to include an excavator, mobile welfare unit and delivery wagons. The location of a site compound is to be confirmed, but it is expected that plant and equipment will be stored within traffic management.

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 the Transportation Noise Action Plan (Road Maps) (TNAP). Noise modelled data from Environmental Noise Directive (END) Round 4 Noise Mapping indicates 24 hour annual average noise levels (Lden) between 70 and 75dB on the A9 at the scheme locations (SpatialData).

Baseline noise levels in the scheme extent are likely to be primarily influenced by traffic along the A9, with secondary sources generated by nearby industrial practices.

Population and human health

There is one residential property (140m west) and approximately seven commercial properties within 300m of the scheme. Access routes to these properties are out with the scheme extents.

National Cycle Network Route 77 travels along the bank of the River Almond which is spanned by the A9 at the scheme(OSMaps).

There are no routes listed on WalkHighlands within 300m of the scheme (WalkHighlands).

Several Core Paths lie within 300m of the scheme. The nearest of these lies along the banks of the River Almond which is spanned by the A9 at the scheme extents (Scotland’s Environment).

There are no access points or non-motorised road user (NMU) provisions within the scheme extents.

In 2024, the average annual daily flow (AADF) of traffic was estimated on the A9 carriageway approximately 750m south of scheme and accounted for 19,832 vehicles, including 1,366 (8%) heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) (Road Traffic Statistics).

Road drainage and the water environment

The road drainage within the scheme is provided by top-entry gullies.

The scheme lies within the Isla and Lower Tay Sand and Gravel (ID: 150740) groundwater body which was classified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in 2023 as being in ‘Good’ condition. It is also a Drinking Water Protected Area (Ground) (SEPA).

The A9 at the scheme spans the River Almond (R East Pow to R Tay Confluences; ID 6506) and lies 350m west of the River Tay (R Isla to R Earn Confluences; ID 6498). These were classified by SEPA in 2023 as having ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ status respectively (SEPA).

There are no other named or SEPA-classified waterbodies within 300m of the scheme.

The SEPA indicative online flood mapping tool records the A9 within the scheme extents as having low to high likelihood of fluvial flooding (e.g., each year this area has 0.1% to 10% likelihood of flooding).

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).