Description of local environment

Air quality

There are no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) declared by the Highland Council within 300m of the scheme (Air Quality Management Areas).

There are no air quality monitoring sites within 10km of the scheme (Scottish Air Quality).

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

Baseline air quality for this scheme is primarily influenced by traffic along the A99 trunk road and agricultural activities associated with the nearby farms. Secondary releases are likely delivered by small settlements within the wider area.

Cultural heritage

A search through the cultural heritage mapping tool PastMap revealed that a Scheduled Monument and Listed Building lie within 300m of the scheme. ‘Hempriggs, Broch 200m S Of’ Scheduled Monument (Reference: SM883) lies approximately 40m east of the scheme and ‘Hempriggs, Cottage Opposite Main Entrance Drive, Facing A9 Road’ category C Listed Building (Reference: LB14078) lies approximately 10m west of the scheme.

Of lesser cultural value, several Historic Environment Records (HERs) and National Records of the Historic Environment (NRHEs) lie within 300m of the scheme, the closest of which are listed below:

Runs directly beneath the scheme extent:

  • Mill Lade, Hempriggs HER
  • Classification: LADE
  • Reference: MHG13749

Lies directly adjacent to the scheme:

  • Hempriggs NRHE
  • Classification: Burgh (medieval)
  • Reference: 75259

There are no Garden & Designed Landscapes, Battlefields, Conservation Areas or World Heritage Sites within 300m of the scheme.

During the construction of the A99, it is likely that all cultural heritage features were identified, and the proposed works will be confined to the A99 trunk road boundary.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme does not fall within a National Park (NP) or National Scenic Area (NSA) (SiteLink).

The land use types surrounding the scheme are as follows (HLAMap):

  • Planned rectilinear fields and farms
  • Designed landscape
  • Planned smallholdings

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the scheme extent is classed as ‘Coastal crofts & small farms’ (LCT 144), which has the following key characteristics:

  • Narrow, settled and farmed coastal fringe with subtle variations in topography, from long stretches of strongly contained coastal shelves and raised beaches, to smaller pockets at river mouths and squeezed between dunes and areas of Cnocan – Caithness & Sutherland.
  • Pastures and occasional arable fields, most often divided by post and wire fences, with the division of fields marked by crop colour and texture rather than boundaries.
  • Low stone walls enclosing fields on the shelf above the High Cliffs and Sheltered Bays between Dunbeath and Wick.
  • Little woodland within the more exposed east and north Caithness coasts.
  • Small woodlands and clumps of trees present at the outlet of more sheltered straths or along the eastern shores of Kyle of Tongue and Loch Eriboll.
  • Settlement most concentrated where this Landscape Character Type broadens at the mouths of major rivers along the east coast, where larger farms and crofts are concentrated.
  • Small, hunkered-down croft houses and outbuildings loosely clustered or sometimes aligned in a linear fashion on the top of terraces or ridges above the coast or a river floodplain.
  • More dispersed settlement pattern on the east coast to the north of Brora.
  • Newer housing most evident to the south of Brora with larger modern houses often infilling spaces between older croft houses and contrasting with the size and form of these original buildings. A number of settlements, often located at bridging points and at the junction with the straths, many with harbours particularly on the east coast of Sutherland and Caithness.
  • Major communications routes on the east coast including the A9, the railway and transmission line aligned along the edge of this landscape.
  • A number of historic sites including churches, castles, mills and cemeteries.
  • Highly visible landscape, seen from major roads and, on the east Sutherland coast, the railway.
  • Complex visual composition of views tending to focus on the detail of houses, field patterns and crops, yet with the wider context of backdrop hills and sea adding diversity.

The A99 trunk road connects Latheron with Wick. It commences at the A99/A9 junction in Latheron leading generally north-eastwards for 27 kilometres to its junction with the A882 (Thurso Street/Dempster Street) in Wick. The A99 is a single carriageway along its length.

Biodiversity

The scheme lies approximately 950m west of the East Caithness Cliffs Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (site code: 8248). Which is designated for vegetated sea cliffs.

The scheme lies approximately 950m west of the East Caithness Cliffs Special Protection Area (SPA) (site code: 8492).

Additionally, the scheme lies approximately 4.9km northeast of the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands SAC (Site code: 8218),RAMSAR site (Site code: 8412) and SPA (Site code: 8476).

Due to the proximity and ecological connectivity between the scheme and East Caithness Cliffs SPA and Caithness and Sutherland SAC/SPA/RAMSAR, a Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) has been completed to assess potential impacts of the works on these European sites. Further details are provided in the ‘Biodiversity’ section below.

There are no Local Nature Reserves (LNRs), National Nature Reserves (NNR) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (SiteLink) within 300m of the scheme.

Numerous bird species were recorded on NBN Atlas within 2km over a ten-year period. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) (WCA), all wild birds and their active nests are protected.

The NBN Atlas returned no records of the invasive plants or injurious weeds as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC) using the same search criteria.

Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) does not hold any records of invasive plants or injurious weeds within 300m of the scheme.

The works are located within a semi-rural area south of the town of Wick with very sparse tree cover in proximity to the works. There are agricultural fields used predominantly for grazing, pockets of scrub and lochs, as well as sea cliffs and littoral habitat.

There are no woodlands listed on the Ancient Woodland Inventory (Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland) within 300m of the scheme.

There are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) present within 300m of the scheme (Highland Tree Preservation Orders).

An ecological constraints survey (ECS) was completed by the BEAR Scotland Environmental Team on 28/04/2026.

Geology and soils

There are no Geological Conservation Review Sites (GCRS) or SSSIs within 300m of the scheme extent (SiteLink).

Bedrock geology within the scheme extent is comprised of Berriedale Sandstone Formation-Siltstone (mudstone and sandstone) and Lybster Flagstone Formation-Siltstone (mudstone and sandstone) (Geology Viewer). There are no superficial deposits recorded within the scheme extent.

Soils within the scheme extent are recorded as being of Carbon and Peatland ‘Class 0’ (mineral soil where peat is not typically found) as displayed on Scotland’s Peat Map (Carbon and Peatland map).

Soils within the scheme extents are recorded as noncalcareous gleys rankers (Scotland's Soils).

Works will be restricted to previously engineered ground within the A99 trunk road boundary. Therefore, this receptor has no constraints (as identified in Environmental Baseline) that are likely to be impacted by the proposed works and as such, ‘geology and soils’ is scoped out and is not discussed further within this RoD.

Material assets and waste

The resurfacing works are necessary to replace the worn carriageway surface and to undertake general maintenance of the A99 trunk road. In addition to resurfacing, the works will include structural maintenance.

Materials used will consist of:

  • Asphaltic material
  • Bituminous emulsion bond coat
  • Milled in road studs
  • Thermoplastic road marking paint

The value of the scheme does not exceed £350,000 therefore, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is not required and will not be completed as part of these works.

A site compound is not required for this scheme.

Wastes are anticipated to be primarily planings from the carriageway surface course which will be reused off-site to improve local farm roads. All road planings will be treated in line with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Low Risk Waste Activity (LRWA) 3 and will be recycled in line with SEPA’s Guidance for End-of-Waste for Recycled Aggregates (WAS-G-DEF-05).

Noise and vibration

Noise modelled data from Environmental Noise Directive (END) Round 4 Noise Mapping indicates a day-evening-night noise level (LDEN) between 65 and 70dB on the A99 at the scheme location (Scotland's Noise).

The scheme does not fall within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) (Transportation Noise Action Plan - 2024-2028).

The works are scheduled to take place in a semi-rural area located on the northeast coast of Scotland within an area surrounded by agricultural land. It is considered likely that the baseline noise levels will be low, with noise mainly influenced by vehicles travelling along the A99 and agricultural activities.

Population and human health

Approximately fourteen residential properties lie within 300m of the scheme extents, the closest of which lies approximately 10m west of the scheme. The garden of this property lies directly adjacent to the scheme.

Additionally, within the scheme extent there are nine access ways that lead to residential homes and/or farms, five access ways that lead to farmland, and one layby on the northbound carriageway.

There are no other public assets such as street lighting, bus stops, or public footpaths within the scheme extent.

There are no non-motorised road user (NMU) provisions, such as National Cycle Network (NCN) routes, Core Paths (OS Maps, Highland Council) or paths listed on WalkHighlands within 300m of the scheme.

Road Traffic Statistics counter (ATC01335), located approximately 14.5km northwest of the scheme along the A99, recorded a total average daily traffic (ADT) count of 1,779 motor vehicles in 2025 as average daily flow, of which 18.4% were Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) (Transport Scotland).

Road drainage and the water environment

‘Caithness’ (ID 150692) is a groundwater body, in the Scotland river basin district, which underlies this scheme. It was given an overall status of ‘good’ in 2024 by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) (Water Classification Hub).

‘Loch Hempriggs’ (ID: 100034) is in the Wick Coastal catchment of the Scotland river basin district. It is 0.9 square kilometres in area and lies approximately 145m east of the scheme. It was given an overall status of ‘Bad’ in 2024 by SEPA.

‘Milton Burn (also known as Burn of Newton) - d/s Loch Hempriggs’ is a river (ID: 23637) in the Wick Coastal catchment of the Scotland river basin district. The main stem is approximately 5km in length and runs directly beneath the scheme extent. 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 the drainage of agricultural land and was given an overall status of ‘Poor ecological potential’ in 2024 by SEPA.

One watercourse (unclassified by SEPA) runs beneath the scheme extent.

Numerous areas within and adjacent to the scheme extent have a high likelihood (10% chance each year) of flooding due to surface water and small watercourses flooding (SEPA Flood Maps).

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).