Description of local environment

Air quality

There are no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) within 10km of the scheme.

There are no registered sites on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) located within 10km of the scheme.

There are no Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) located within 10km of the scheme.

Baseline air quality is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic travelling along the A9; with secondary sources derived from the nearby railway and from land management activities.

Cultural heritage

There is one record from the Canmore database located 220m north-west of the scheme designated as a road bridge and entitled ‘Chrombaidh Bridge’ (PastMap).

There are no Historic Environment Records, Conservation Areas, Battlefields, World Heritage Sites, Gardens and Designed Landscapes, Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments within 300m of the scheme extent.

Any features of cultural heritage are likely to have been discovered during the construction of the A9 trunk road. As works are restricted to the A9 trunk road boundary, it is unlikely that any unrecorded features of cultural heritage interest will be discovered and any potential impacts on cultural heritage will be negligible. Therefore this feature has not been considered further and has been scoped out of this assessment.

Landscape and visual effects

The Scheme is located within the Cairngorms National Park, site code 8623. The National Park has the following list of General Qualities:

  • 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 surrounding land is dominated by forestry plantations and mixed woodland; moorland; and freshwater habitat. The A9 trunk road and Highland Mainline Railway line are dominant landscape features.

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) at the scheme extent is ‘Upland Glen-Cairngorms-126’ which has the following key characteristics (NatureScot):

  • Strong evidence of glacial processes, including steepened sides and level floors, shattered rock faces on higher slopes, hummocks of resistant rock on some glen floors and terraces on glacial deposits at the edges of glen floors
  • Often form arrival points into the Cairngorms National Park
  • Size varies from large open passes to narrower, more secluded glens
  • Enclosed predominantly by steep slopes
  • Frequently differing land-use on one side of the glen to the other-linked to aspect
  • Improved, grazed fields on glen floors and floodplains
  • Mostly settled, some only sparsely, but often extensive evidence of past settlement, including prehistoric hut circles and associated field systems, pre-improvement townships, and seasonal shielings
  • Some landmark historic buildings
  • Access varies from narrow roads, estate and forestry tracks to main routes, but most have some form of road running through them
  • Varied experience when passing through glens from open and expansive to sheltered and secluded
  • Views to adjacent uplands, from which parts of the glens are visible and provide contrast

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 single carriageway at the scheme extent.

Biodiversity

The scheme lies approximately 1.69km north of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (Site ID: 8366), encompassing the River Garry/Errochty Water at this section. Indirect hydrological connectivity may exist via carriageway drainage and tributaries which are culverted below the A9 carriageway.

Struan Wood Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (Site ID: 1504) lies 200m west of the scheme extents.

Geological SSSI’s in proximity to the scheme are detailed in the Geology and Soils section below.

There are no other sites designated for biodiversity features within 300m of the scheme extent (SiteLink).

The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas holds 44 records of bird species within 2km of the scheme (the search criteria included only records during the past ten years, and which have open-use attributions (OGL-CC0-CC-BY). Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), all wild birds and their active nests are protected, with certain species receiving additional protections.

The NBN Atlas holds no records of invasive non-native species (INNS) or injurious weeds (as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC)) under the same search criteria; however, this does not preclude their potential presence in the area.

A search using Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) holds one record of common ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) approximately 200m north of the scheme.

Habitat in the surrounding area is dominated by forestry plantations and mixed woodland; moorland; and freshwater habitat. Works are restricted to the A9 trunk road boundary and no environmental constraints that would justify a site visit were identified during the desktop study.

There are several areas of woodland as listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) within 300m of the scheme; the closest of which is Wood ID: 17554 (‘other (on Roy map)’ antiquity) which overlaps the northern end of the scheme extent.

There are no areas of trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) by Perth and Kinross Council within 300m of the scheme.

Geology and soils

The scheme lies approximately 200m south of the A9 Road Cuttings and River Garry Gorge Geological Conservation Review Site; and approximately 180m south-east of the Glen Garry SSSI (Site ID: 710) which is designated for Dalradian geology (SiteLink).

Component soils surrounding the scheme are brown earths with humus-iron podzols. The parent materials are drifts derived from schists, gneisses, granulites and quartzites principally of the Moine Series (Scotland’s Soils).

Soils in the area around the scheme extent are Class 0 mineral soils and peatland habitats are not typically found on such soils (Carbon and Peatland Map 2016).

Bedrock geology within the scheme extent is ‘Gaick Psammite Formation- Psammite’; with a small area of ‘North Britain Siluro-Devonian-Calc-Alkaline Dyke Suite- Microdiorite’ geology mid-way through the scheme extent (Scottish Geology Trust).

Material assets and waste

The proposed resurfacing works are required to resurface the worn carriageways (northbound and southbound), remove the surface course and repair structural defects. Road markings and studs will also be installed. Materials used will consist of:

  • Asphaltic materials (TS2010 surface course and warm mix AC20 binder course and warm mix AC32 base course)
  • Milled in road studs
  • Thermoplastic road marking paint
  • Bituminous emulsion bond coat

Due to the scheme value, there is no requirement for a Site Waste Management Plan. The contractor is responsible for the disposal of road planings and this has been registered in accordance with the Paragraph 13 (a) waste exemption issued by SEPA, as described in Schedule 3of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 2011 (exemption number: WML/XS/2011313).

Coal tar has not been identified on site and no site compound is required for these works. Storage of plant and equipment will be within TM on the A9 carriageway. 

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 Transport Scotland’s Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) 2019-2023.

Noise levels on the A9 at the scheme extent for day, evening and night (Lden) fall between 64-69dB (SpatialData.gov.scot).

Baseline noise levels are likely to be primarily influenced by traffic travelling along the A9; with secondary sources derived from nearby land management activities and the Highland Mainline Railway.

Population and human health

There are no residential or commercial properties within 300m of the scheme extents. The closest residential property lies approximately 670m south-west of the scheme and is screened by intervening topography and woodland.

There are no parking or pedestrian facilities within the scheme extents. 

The Highland Mainline Railway line lies 170m west of the scheme at its closest point.

National Cycle Route 7, which connects Aberfeldy and Pitlochry and forms part of several long distance cycle routes, runs parallel to the west of the A9 at a distance of 40m at its closest point.

There are no Core Paths or walking routes designated by WalkHighlands within 300m of the scheme extent.

TM will involve single lane closures and temporary traffic lights with a convoy system in place.

Road drainage and the water environment

The scheme extent and surrounding area is underpinned by the Rannoch groundwater (ID: 150691). This is 1273.4 square kilometres in area and in 2023, was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (SEPA).

The Allt a Chrombaidh is a river (ID: 6607) in the River Tay catchment of the Scotland river basin district. The main stem is approximately 7.8km in length and it lies approximately 220m north of the scheme. In 2023, it was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by SEPA under the WFD (SEPA).

The River Garry from Garry Intake to Errochty Water confluence is a river (ID: 6911) in the River Tay catchment of the Scotland river basin district. The main stem is approximately 13.2km in length and it lies 100m west of the scheme at its closest point. The water body has been designated as a heavily modified water body on account of physical alterations that cannot be addressed without a significant impact on water storage for hydroelectricity generation. In 2023, it was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by SEPA under the WFD (SEPA).

There are several other unclassified drains, springs and wetlands within 300m of the scheme extent.

SEPA Flood Map has highlighted a low to medium risk of river water flooding at the northern end of the scheme extent (i.e. a 0.1-0.5% chance of flooding each year). There is also a low to high risk of surface water and small watercourses flooding each year (i.e. a 0.1-10% chance of flooding each year).

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 includes 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.