Description of local environment

Air quality

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

There are no registered air emission sites on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) located within 10km of the scheme (Scotland’s Environment).

Baseline air quality is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic along the A9 carriageway, with secondary sources likely to arise from nearby land management.

Cultural heritage

There are no Scheduled Monuments, Garden & Designed Landscapes, Conservation Areas, Battlefields, Listed Buildings or World Heritage Sites within 300m of the scheme (PastMap). There are also no features recording on the Canmore or Historic Environment Record databases within 300m of the scheme.

Construction of the A9 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.

No features are recorded within the works’ footprint, and potential for presence of undiscovered features is low. 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 extent lies within Cairngorms National Park (CNP). The Special General Qualities of CNP are the following:

• Magnificent mountains towering over moorland, forest and strath
• Vastness of space, scale and height
• Strong juxtaposition of contrasting landscapes
• A landscape of layers, from inhabited strath to remote, uninhabited upland
• ‘The harmony of complicated curves’
• Landscapes both cultural and natural

The scheme is not situated within a National Scenic Area (NSA).

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) (NatureScot) within the scheme extent is recorded as Upland Strath (LCT No. 127) which is characterised by:

• Large, broad, flat bottomed strath, with some narrower pinch-point sections.
• Valley floor with the meandering River Spey and frequent lochs and marshes.
• Meadows and wetlands prone to flooding on the valley floor.
• Mixed pastures and broadleaved woodland in more undulating areas.
• Wetlands flanked by mixed woodland and conifer forests.
• Main communication corridor housing A9 trunk road and railway.
• Estate houses and policy landscapes in many parts of the strath.
• A well-settled area with a series of settlements occurs along the northern side of the strath at bridging points over the River Spey. They are popular tourist destinations serving the Cairngorms National Park. Elsewhere farms and houses are frequent along main and minor roads.
• Views to the Cairngorm mountains.
• Noise and activity from busy A9.

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. Within the scheme extent, the A9 is a single carriageway with a junction/off-slip at the southern extent.

Biodiversity

The River Spey Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (SiteLink; NatureScot Site Code: 8365) lies 350m north of the scheme extents at the nearest point.

The Insh Marshes SAC (SiteLink; NatureScot Site Code: 8274) lies 750m northeast of the scheme extents at the nearest point.

The River Spey - Insh Marshes Special Protection Area (SPA) (SiteLink; NatureScot Site Code: 8571) lies 750m northeast of the scheme extents at the nearest point.

The River Spey - Insh Marshes Ramsar (SiteLink; NatureScot Site Code 8452) lies 750m northeast of the scheme extents at the nearest point.

The following locally and/or nationally designated sites with biodiversity features are located within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink):

• River Spey - Insh Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (SiteLink).
• River Spey SSSI (SiteLink).

Both SSSIs overlap with the above-mentioned European sites and lie 50m from the scheme extents at the nearest point.

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

The NBN atlas does not hold any record of invasive and injurious plants (as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC)) within 300m of the scheme.

The Transport Scotland Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) holds no record of invasive and injurious plants (as listed in the NMC) within 300m of the scheme.

No Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) are located within 300m of the scheme (Highland Council).

There are no areas listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory within 300m of the scheme.

Geology and soils

The scheme does not lie within a Geological Conservation Review Site (GCRS), or within a geologically designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (NatureScot).

The local soil type is recorded as humus-iron podzols (Scotland’s Environment).

Superficial deposits are recorded as ‘Glaciofluvial Sheet Deposits - Sand, gravel and boulders’ and ‘Ardverikie Till Formation – Diamicton’. Bedrock type is recorded as ‘Loch Laggan Psammite Formation’ which is a metamorphic bedrock (British Geological Survey).

The scheme is located within a ‘Class 0’ category of carbon and peatland importance. Peatland habitats are not typically found on such soils (Scotland’s Environment).

Material assets and waste

The proposed works involve installation of new VRS and repositioning of existing signs to facilitate this. Materials used will consist of Portland cement, VRS beam and posts, and traffic sign faces & posts (re-used).

Wastes are anticipated to be earth excavated for the installation of posts, and possibly small sections of existing VRS that will be removed. Excavated material will be redistributed on site, and any removed VRS will be recycled.

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

Noise and vibration

For sensitive 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) (Transport Scotland).

Baseline noise levels are likely to be primarily influenced by traffic travelling along the A9 carriageway, in addition to minor roads and nearby land use. Round 4 Noise Mapping shows the average day, evening and night-time noise levels (LDEN) at the scheme to be between 70 and 80dB (SEPA).

Population and human health

Approximately eight residential properties are located within 300m of the scheme, the closest of which is located 20m from the A9 carriageway. Some screening is present between these properties and the scheme, in the form of roadside shelter belts.

There is a junction at the western extent of the scheme leading to Newtonmore via the B9150. There is also a layby on the southbound side of the A9 opposite the scheme extents.

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

No routes on the National Cycle Network (Sustrans), Core Paths (Highland Council), or routes listed on Walkhighlands are located within the scheme extent. However, the No.7 cycle route and Core Path (UBS9) passes 25m northwest of the scheme.

The nearest traffic counter on the A9 (ID: 30824) is located 150m west of the scheme, and estimated an average annual daily flow (AADF) in 2023 of 9039 vehicles, of which 1580 (17.6%) heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

Traffic management will consist of temporary traffic lights and lane closure on the B9150 where needed, with the majority of the works expected to be carried out as verge works.

Road drainage and the water environment

River Spey – ‘Spey Dam to Loch Insh’ (ID: 23142) lies 380m north of the scheme. This waterbody has been classified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) and was given an overall status of ‘moderate’ by SEPA in 2023 (SEPA).

Several minor watercourses (not shown on an Ordnance Survey 1:50k scale map) including drainage channels are located within 300m of the scheme, however none are located directly within the footprint of the works.

The scheme is located within the Upper Spey Sand and Gravel groundwater body (ID: 150814) and Drinking Protected Area (Ground). This water body was classified by SEPA as having an overall good status in 2023.

Climate

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out the target and vision set by the Scottish Government for tackling and responding to climate change (The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009). The Act included a target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 80% before 2050 (from the baseline year 1990). The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 amended the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to bring the target of reaching net-zero emissions in Scotland forward to 2045 (Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019).

The Scottish Government has since published its indicative Nationally Determined Contribution (iNDC) to set out how it will reach net-zero emissions by 2045, working to reduce emissions of all major greenhouse gases by at least 75% by 2030 (Scotland's contribution to the Paris Agreement: indicative Nationally Determined Contribution - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)). By 2040, the Scottish Government is committed to reducing emissions by 90%, with the aim of reaching net-zero by 2045 at the latest.

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). 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 a legally binding target of net-zero by 2045.