Description of local environment
Air quality
Baseline air quality levels are likely to be influenced by vehicle traffic from the A96 carriageway and surrounding agricultural activities. The Annual Average Daily Flow (AADF) in 2024 for the A96 carriageway, within the scheme extents (estimated count point ID: 40782), accounted for 7,486 vehicles, with 679 of these being Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs).
Approximately eight residential properties have been identified within 200m of the scheme extents with the closest located 15m east. No non-residential air quality sensitive receptors have been identified within 200m of the scheme extents.
Aberdeenshire Council has not declared any Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). No real-time air quality monitoring stations are present within 200m of the scheme extents.
The Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) has not identified any polluting facilities within 1km of the scheme extents.
Cultural heritage
Scotland’s Environment Map has not identified any designated (such as Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, World Heritage Sites etc.) culturally significant assets within 300m of the scheme extents. No undesignated (such as Canmores or Historic Environment Records (HERs)) culturally significant assets have been identified within 100m of the scheme extents.
The scheme will be restricted to the carriageway boundary and views of and from the road will be temporarily impacted by the presence of TM, plant and vehicles during construction.
This is predicted to be a slight temporary impact locally, with no permanent change to views or cultural heritage as a whole following the completion of works. As such, impact to cultural heritage has been assessed as being ‘no change’ and has been scoped out of requiring further assessment.
Landscape and visual effects
Due to the area surrounding the scheme consisting of sporadic residential properties, approximately five residential properties have been identified which are expected to have sight of the scheme extents. Sporadic areas of dense vegetation is present in areas and will block views in places however, visual receptors are still anticipated to have sight of the A96 carriageway within the area of works. No Aberdeenshire Council Core Paths or public footways have been identified with a view of the scheme extents.
No National Scenic Areas (NSAs) or Garden Designed Landscapes (GDLs) have been identified within 500m of the scheme extents (Scotland’s Environment Mapping Resource).
Scotland’s Landscape Character Type Map lists the landscape character type present within the scheme extents to be ‘Farmed Moorland Edge - Aberdeenshire’. Scotland’s Historic Land-Use Map lists the land surrounding the scheme extents as rectilinear farms and fields.
No trees under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents.
Biodiversity
The A96 carriageway verge within the scheme extents contains areas of low-lying vegetation and dense mature woodland, separating the carriageway from residential properties and agricultural land. Scotland’s Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) has identified two areas of ancient woodland within 500m of the scheme extents:
- The Bin Forest (Long-established (of plantation origin)) (site ID: 46), approx. 5m east; and
- Dunbennan Woodland (site ID: 44), approx. 210m west.
No designated sites of ecological importance (such as SACs, Ramsar sites or SPAs) have been identified with connectivity to, or within 2km of the scheme extents (NatureScot’s Sitelink).
No other nationally designated sites (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or Local Nature Reserves) have been identified within 200m of the scheme extents.
The NBN Atlas resource has not identified the presence of any Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) or Transport Scotland Target Species within 500m of the scheme extents. The Amey Environment NE INNS Map resource has not recorded the presence of any INNS or Transport Scotland Target Species within 500m of the scheme extents.
The scheme and the surrounding habitat have been reviewed by a senior ecologist utilising desktop resource, and, in turn, a site visit was scoped out. The transient nature of the works combined with the requirement of the works to be contained within the pavement boundary has allowed for this conclusion.
Geology and soils
The scheme is not located within 200m of any Geological Conservation Review sites (GCRs), or SSSIs designated for their geological significance (NatureScot’s Sitelink).
The National Soil Map of Scotland lists the soil present within the scheme extents to be that of brown earth. This resource states the surrounding land to be a ‘3.2’ with regard to the Land Classification for Agriculture.
- Huntly-knock Pluton - Orthopyroxene-gabbro and clinopyroxene-norite. Igneous bedrock formed between 485.4 and 443.8 million years ago during the Ordovician period.
- Till, Devensian - Diamicton. Sedimentary superficial deposit formed between 116 and 11.8 thousand years ago during the Quaternary period (western extents).
Material assets and waste
The works are required to side out and resurface the worn carriageway and reinstate road markings and studs. Materials used will consist of:
- Bituminous surfacing (TS2010, AC20 binder and AC32 base);
- Road marking materials (thermoplastic road marking paint) and studs;
- Vehicle fuel;
- Oil; and
Wastes are anticipated to be sided-out material and planings from the carriageway surface course, with no coal tar recorded from coring logs within scheme extents. The Contractor is responsible for the disposal/recycling of road planings, and this will be registered in accordance with a Paragraph 13(a) waste exemption issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), as described in Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 2011.
This scheme value is in excess of £350k and therefore a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is required to be produced.
Noise and vibration
Baseline noise and vibration levels are likely to be influenced by vehicle traffic from the A96 carriageway and surrounding agricultural activities. The AADF in 2024 for the A96 carriageway, within the scheme extents (estimated count point ID: 40782), accounted for 7,486 vehicles, with 679 of these being HGVs.
10 residential properties have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents with the closest located 15m east. No non-residential noise sensitive receptors have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents.
Scotland’s Noise Map has indicated modelled day-evening-night noise levels (Lden) in the areas surrounding the carriageway to be around 60-75 dB within 80m. Night-time noise levels (Lnight) surrounding the carriageway show levels of 50-65 dB within 70m. The scheme is not located within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) as defined within the Transportation Noise Action Plan.
Population and human health
The A96 carriageway within the scheme extents is located to the north of the town of Huntly, Aberdeenshire. This section of the A96 carriageway links smaller towns such as Keith, Huntly and Inverurie with the city of Aberdeen. Whilst these smaller towns play host to amenities and facilities such as educational facilities, medical facilities and care facilities, a greater abundance and complexity of these facilities can be found in the city of Aberdeen.
10 residential properties have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents with the closest located 15m east. Community facilities and assets of note identified within 300m of the scheme extents include farmland, agricultural properties and Bin Forest.
The A96 carriageway within the scheme extents is not street-lit and contains no bus stops and no pedestrian footways. Two laybys are present within the scheme extents, as are single access points to fields, properties and forestry sites.
No Aberdeenshire Council Core Paths or public footways have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents. No National Cycle Network (NCN) routes have been identified within 300m of the scheme extents.
Road drainage and the water environment
SEPA’s Water Classification Hub has identified the River Deveron – Blackwater to Huntly (site ID: 23182), classified under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) as being in ‘Good’ condition, approx. 130m west of the scheme extents. Multiple field and road drains are also present beneath and running parallel to the A96 carriageway within the scheme extents.
SEPA’s Water Classification Hub has identified the groundwater conditions within the scheme extents (entitled ‘Keith’, site ID: 150656) as being in ‘Good’ condition.
SEPA’s Flood Map has identified multiple areas of the A96 carriageway within the scheme extents to be at a ‘High’ (approx. 10% each year) risk of surface water flooding. No areas of the A96 carriageway within the scheme extents are at risk of river water flooding according to this resource.
The A96 carriageway within the scheme extents is located within the Moray, Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan Scottish Government Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ). NVZs are areas designated as being at risk from agricultural nitrate pollution. Areas such as the Moray, Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan NVZ either result or would likely result in a concentration equal or exceeding 50mg/l of nitrates in either surface or groundwater as a result of agriculture.
Climate
Carbon Goals
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, as amended by the Scottish Carbon Budgets Amendment Regulations 2025 sets out the statutory framework for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Scotland. The prior annual and interim targets have been replaced by five-year carbon budgets, which sets limits on the amount of GHGs that can be emitted in Scotland.
The proposed carbon budgets are aligned with advice from the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) and calculated in accordance with the 2009 Act. The 2025 Regulations define the baseline years for emissions reductions as 1990 for GHGs including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and 1995 for others such as hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride (as set out in Section 11 of the Act). The budgets are as follows:
- 2026 - 2030: Average emissions to be 57% lower than baseline.
- 2031 - 2035: Average emissions to be 69% lower than baseline.
- 2036 - 2040: Average emissions to be 80% lower than baseline
- 2041 - 2045: Average emissions to be 94% lower than baseline.
These budgets are legally binding and will be supported by a new Climate Change Plan, which will outline the specific policies and actions required to meet the targets.
Transport Scotland remains committed to reducing carbon across Scotland’s transport network, this commitment is being enacted through the Mission Zero for Transport. Transport is the largest contributor to harmful climate emissions in Scotland, and Transport Scotland are committed to reducing their emissions by 75% by 2030 and to a legally binding target of net-zero by 2045.
Amey’s Company Wide Carbon Goal is to achieve Scope 1 and 2 net-zero carbon emissions, with a minimum of 80% absolute reduction on our emissions by 2035. Amey is aiming to be fully net-zero, including Scope 3 emissions, by 2040.
Amey are working towards a contractual commitment to have carbon neutral depots on the North East Network Management Contract (NE NMC) network by 2028. Amey have set carbon goals for the NE NMC contract as a whole to be net-zero carbon by 2032.