Description of local environment

Air quality

The scheme does not lie within any Air Quality Management Areas as designated by the Highland Council (Scottish Air Quality).

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

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

Due to the highly rural location of the scheme, baseline air quality is anticipated to be good, with road traffic on the A830 providing the primary impact on air quality. Some secondary impacts may arise from land management activities in the surrounding area.

Cultural heritage

A search of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) mapping tool Pastmap records the following cultural heritage features within 300m of the scheme:

  • There are a total of eight entries on the National Records of the Historic Environment and Historic Environment Records located within 300m of the scheme locations. None lie within the scheme extents with the nearest located 25m west of Arieniskill.

There are no Scheduled Monuments, Battlefields, Garden and Designed Landscapes, Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, or World Heritage Sites within 300m of the scheme extents.

The construction of the A830 trunk road and associated infrastructure will likely have exposed any potential items of cultural heritage interest present within the upper engineered layers, and as such, the likelihood of presence of undiscovered features is considered low.

As there are no cultural heritage features within proximity to the works and no excavation below the upper engineered layers is required, there is no potential for adverse impacts of the works on cultural heritage and this receptor is not considered further in this Record of Determination (RoD).

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme does not lie within 300m of any National Parks or National Scenic Areas (SiteLink).

The scheme lies within the “Mountain Massif - Lochaber” Landscape Character Type which is noted for the following key characteristics:

  • Low rounded hills with relatively steep sides and a rugged, ice-scoured, rocky surface.
  • Transitional between Sweeping Interlocking Peaks - Lochaber to the east and low Rocky Coastland - Lochaber to the west.
  • Predominance of eroded, and exposed rock surfaces, giving a consistent pattern of colours and textures.
  • Native oak and ash woodland on lower slopes and in sheltered glens, contrasting with exposed faces. Small pockets of native Scots pine in some areas.
  • Settlement on flat lochside fringes.
  • Generally isolated and, in some parts, inaccessible.
  • Roads follow coastal and lochside fringes.
  • Views of the sea and islands; hills descend either directly to the coast or via more gentle Rocky Coastland.

Land use surrounding the scheme is broadly characterised by upland areas with low levels of management and sparse settlement. The A830 and West Highland Railway Line form two artificial linear features in proximity ot the scheme and Loch Eilt forms a major freshwater landscape feature in the vicinity of the scheme.

The A830 Trunk Road connects Fort William with Mallaig. It commences at the A828 / A82 junction in Fort William leading generally westwards for a distance of 70 kilometres to (and including) the B8008 Station Road Roundabout in Mallaig. The A830 is a single carriageway along its length.

Biodiversity

The scheme is located wholly within the Moidart and Ardgour Special Protection Area (SPA) (Site ID: 10115). A Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) has been produced and consultation with NatureScot has been conducted. Refer to the relevant assessment section below for details.

The scheme does not lie in proximity to any Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designated for biodiversity features.

The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas does not hold any 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); however, this does not preclude their presence in the area. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), all wild birds and their active nests are protected, with certain species receiving additional protections.

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

A search using Transport Scotland’s Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) returned no records of INNS or injurious weeds listed on the NMC within 300m of the scheme.

There is a single area of ancient woodland (Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland) located within 160m of the scheme at Arieniskill.

There are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) located within 300m of the scheme (Highland Council).

Habitat surrounding the scheme is characterised by sparse upland with some wooded areas at lower altitudes and Loch Eilt and the River Ailort which provide significant freshwater habitat.

Geology and soils

There are no Geological Conservation Review Sites (GCRSs) or geological SSSIs located within 300m of the scheme (SiteLink).

Bedrock geology at the scheme is recorded as a mixture of psammite and pelite from various Groups. Some superficial deposits are present in the form of peat, alluvial fan deposits, and hummocky glacial mounds (British Geological Society).

Soil classification within the scheme extent is recorded as peaty gleyed podzols with peaty gleys with peaty rankers and the area is recorded on the Carbon and Peatland 2016 map as “Class 4” which indicates predominantly mineral soil with some peat soil (Scotland’s Soils).

Works will be restricted to previously engineered ground within the A830 trunk road boundary. Therefore, this receptor has no constraints 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 proposed works are necessary to resurface sections of the A830 carriageway, requiring base/binder inlay, and reinstatement of road markings and studs. Materials used will consist of:

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

Wastes are anticipated to be removed planings from the surface course, which will be recovered for re-use in line with BEAR Scotland’s Procedure 126: The Production of Fully Recovered Asphalt Road Planings. The Contractor is responsible for the disposal of road planings and this has been registered in accordance with a Paragraph 13(a) waste exemption issued by SEPA, as described in Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 2011.

The scheme value at Mhuidhe East exceeds £350,000, and as such a site waste management plan (SWMP) is required for this scheme. Coal tar has not been highlighted as being present within any of the scheme extents.

Noise and vibration

For residential, community and commercial receptors refer to the ‘Population and Human Health’ section below.

The scheme does not lie within any Candidate Noise Management Areas (Transport Scotland).

Noise modelled data from Environmental Noise Directive (END) Round 4 Noise Mapping indicates 24 hour annual average noise level (Lden) between 55 and 65dB at the scheme locations (SpatialData).

Given the location of the scheme in a highly rural location, it is considered likely that the baseline noise levels will be generally low, with road traffic on the A830 providing the primary source of noise.

Population and human health

The scheme lies on a rural stretch of the A830 with a small number of residential properties located within 300m of the scheme and the nearest located 80m from the trunk road. None are accessed via the A830 within the scheme extents. One layby is present within the scheme extents at Arieniskill and there are no bus stops, cycle lanes, or other non-motorised user (NMU) facilities within the scheme.

Two local access tracks are present within the scheme. There are no Core Paths or designated walking routes (Walk Highlands) within 300m of the scheme extent.

The nearest Transport Scotland count point (ID: ATC01072) on the A830 is located approximately 5km west at its nearest point and in 2025 records an Average Daily Traffic of 1,551 with 21% comprised of heavy goods vehicles.

Road drainage and the water environment

The scheme extent and surrounding area is underpinned by the Fort William groundwater (ID: 150696) which is 2,274.7 square kilometres in area. In 2022, this was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD).

Loch Eilt is a lake (ID: 100206) in the Ardnamurchan Coastal catchment of the Scotland river basin district. It is 1.8 square kilometres in area and lies approximately 15m south of the scheme at its nearest point. In 2023, it was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by SEPA under the WFD.

River Ailort is a river (ID: 20407) in the Ardnamurchan Coastal catchment of Scotland’s river basin district. The main stem is approximately 9.5km in length and it lies approximately 10m west of the scheme at its nearest point. In 2023, it was assigned ‘Good Ecological Potential’ by SEPA under the WFD.

Abhainn Shlatach (ID: 20417) is located approximately 15m south of the scheme at its nearest point and was classified by SEPA in 2023 as being in ‘Moderate’ condition.

 Allt Lon a Mhuidhe (ID: 20408) is located 150m west of the scheme and was classified by SEPA in 2023 as being in ‘Good’ condition

There are several other unclassified water bodies and drains within 300m of the scheme.

SEPA Flood Map has highlighted no likelihood of river or surface water flooding at the scheme extents.

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).