Description of local environment

Air quality

For properties within 300m of the scheme refer to “Population and Human Health.

A search of the Air Quality in Scotland online mapping tool records that air quality in the wider bandings to be within the ‘green zone’ (Low Index 1-3).

The scheme is located within the North Lanarkshire boundary, which reports one active Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) within its administrative boundary. The closest AQMA is the “Motherwell” AQMA which is located approximately 14.01km southwest of the scheme extents and has been declared for particulate matter smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM₁₀).

There are seven sites registered on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) for air pollutant releases within 10km of the scheme extents in the last 10 years:

• “Cairneyhill Quarry” – Mineral industry – declared for PM₁₀ and particulate matter <2.5 microns in diameter (PM_2.5) – located approximately 3.2km northwest of the scheme extents.
• “Duntilland Quarry, Shotts” – Mineral industry – declared for PM₁₀ – located approximately 3.25km west of the scheme extents.
• “Bathgate Compressor Station (Site 2)” – Energy sector – declared for carbon dioxide, methane, and non-methane volatile organic compounds – located approximately 6.5km north of the scheme extents.
• “Beeches Poultry Farm, Longridge, Bathgate” – Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia – located approximately 7.25km southeast of the scheme extents.
• “Auchinlea Landfill Site, Bellside, Cleland, Motherwell” – Waste and waste-water management – declared for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and methane – located approximately 8.2km southwest of the scheme extents.
• “LREL – Levenseat, By Forth, Lanark” – Waste and waste-water management – declared for antimony, arsenic, chromium, copper, dioxins and furans (as ITEQ) – located approximately 8.22km southeast of the scheme extents.
• “Levenseat Waste Management Site, Lanarkshire” – Waste and waste-water management – declared for carbon dioxide and methane – located approximately 8.4km southeast of the scheme extents

Baseline air quality within the scheme extents is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic along the M8 carriageway. Secondary sources are most commonly derived from motor vehicles travelling along local network roads, day-to-day agricultural land management activities, and industrial activities.

Cultural heritage

The PastMap and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) online mapping tools record no designated cultural heritage assets within 300m of the scheme extents.

Of lesser concern, there are approximately four undesignated cultural heritage assets (UCHAs) within 300m of the scheme extents. The closest UCHA lies approximately 185m north of the scheme extents.

Construction of the M8 is likely to have removed any archaeological remains that may have been present within the trunk road boundary. The potential for the presence of unknown archaeological remains in the study area has therefore been assessed to be low.

Given that the works will be restricted to the existing M8 carriageway boundary and depth and the lack of any designated features within 300m, the potential for impacts to cultural heritage are deemed to be negligible. As such cultural heritage has been scoped out of further environmental assessment.

Landscape and visual effects

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

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the scheme extents is categorised as “Plateau Moorlands – Glasgow & Clyde Valley” (LCT 213), the key characteristics of which are:

• Large scale landform
• Undulating hills and sloping ridges in the western areas; a more even plateau landform in the east.
• Distinctive upland character created by the combination of elevation, exposure, smooth plateau landform, moorland vegetation.
• Predominant lack of modern development.
• Extensive wind turbine development, including one of the largest wind farms in Scotland, Black Law.
• Sense of apparent naturalness and remoteness which contrasts with the farmed and settled lowlands, although this has been reduced in places by wind energy development.

The Historic Land-use Assessment (HLA) classifies the land-use within 300m of the scheme extents as:

• Motorways and Major Roads,
• Rectilinear Fields and Farms,
• Quarry,
• Plantation,
• Restored Agricultural Land,
• Rough Grazing
• Urban Area, and
• Industrial or Commercial Area.

There are two areas of woodland recorded on the Ancient Woodland Inventory of Scotland within 300m of the scheme extents. Their details are as follows:

Site ID (Wood ID)	Antiquity	Area	Distance from Scheme Extents
9 (31,915)	Ancient (of semi-natural origin) since 1860 (ANSO1860)	1.03ha	15m north
9 (31,916)	ANSO1860	0.83ha	35m north

There are two areas of native woodland and one area of plantation on ancient woodland site (PAWS). Their details are as follows:

Type	Dominant Habitat	Maturity	Area	Distance from Scheme Extents
PAWS	Unidentifiable	Mature	1.35ha	Adjacent to north
Native woodland	Wet Woodland	Regenerating	4.26ha	15m south
Native woodland	Lowland mixed deciduous woodland	Mixed	4.68ha	140m south

Additionally, the M8 westbound to the south of the scheme extents is bordered to the south by an area of primarily coniferous woodland.

There are no individual trees or areas of woodland protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) within 300m of the scheme extents (TPO Map).

The existing trunk road is a prominent linear landscape feature. The trunk road corridor, for example, has a distinct character shaped by fast-flowing traffic, road markings, safety barriers, signage, landscaping, etc. The scale of the trunk road detracts from the quality and character of the wider landscape.

Biodiversity

The scheme does not lie within 2km of any European Sites designated for nature conservation i.e. Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). However, the scheme lies within buffer zones of qualifying features of the Firth of Forth SPA and Ramsar Site, and Slamannan Plateau SPA. Their qualifying features are detailed below:

The Firth of Forth SPA and Ramsar Site are located 17.84km north of the scheme extents.

The Slamannan Plateau SPA is located approx. 9.7km northwest of the scheme extents.

The Firth of Forth SPA and Ramsar Site has a component SSSI.

The Slamannan Plateau SPA has a component SSSI.

There is one Local Nature Conservation Site (LNCS) within 300m of the scheme extents. The “Eastfield Strip” Site of Importance of Nature Conservation (SINC) lies approximately 15m south of the scheme extents, adjacent to the south of the M8 westbound carriageway.

The National Biodiversity Network Atlas (NBN Atlas) holds records of numerous bird species 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. No other species of conservation importance within 2km of the scheme, in the last 10 years. Only records with open-use attributions (OGL, CCO, CC-BY) were included in the search criteria.

The NBN atlas holds no records of invasive non-native species (INNS) (as listed in the Network Management Contract (NMC)).

A search of the Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) online mapping tool records no invasive or injurious plant species as listed within the NMC throughout the eastbound verge within the scheme extents.

The habitat immediately bordering the M8 within the scheme extents consists primarily of agricultural land with some areas of coniferous and mixed woodland along with areas of scrub within the SINC to the south. While there is some availability of roadside vegetation, habitat immediately bordering the trunk road is assessed to be of reduced ecological value, due to the high likelihood of disturbances from high volume, fast-flowing traffic and that the M8 carriageway which also limits the connectivity and continuity for species between their potential habitats on either side of the road.

Geology and soils

There are no geological SSSIs or Geological Conservation Review Sites within 300m of the scheme extents (SiteLink). Additionally, there are no Local Geodiversity Sites (LGS) within 300m of the scheme extents. 

The generalised soil type and major soil group within the scheme extents is classified as “Brown soils” (Scotland’s Soils).

Bedrock geology within the scheme extents is classified as “Scottish Lower Coal Measures Formation - Sedimentary rock cycles, coal measure type.” with superficial deposits of “Till, Devensian - Diamicton.” (British Geology Viewer).

There is no evidence of historical industrial processes or the storage of hazardous materials that could have given rise to significant land contamination.

Given the restriction of the works to the M8 carriageway boundary, and the lack of any excavation works, local geology and soils are unlikely to be affected by the proposed works. Therefore, “Geology and Soils” has been scoped out of further environmental assessment.

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are required to repair defects identified in a visual survey. Materials used will consist of:

• TS2010 10mm Site Class 1.
• AC20 Dense Binder 40/60.
• Tack/Bond coat.
• Thermoplastic Road Markings.
• Embedded Road Studs.

The value of the scheme is less than £350,000 and as such, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is not required.

The 1175m scheme involves the removal of surface and binder course. In total, approximately 1318.9 tonnes of bituminous material (European Waste Catalogue Code: 17 03 02) will be removed from site, none of which is classified as hazardous material containing coal tar.

Noise and vibration

The works do not fall within a candidate noise management area (CNMA) as defined by the Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP).

The night-time noise levels (Lnight) modelled within the scheme extents ranges between 70 and 80 decibels (dB), decreasing to between 60 and 70dB at the nearest noise sensitive receptor (residential) (Noise Map Viewer).

Baseline noise and vibration in the study area is mainly influenced by vehicles traveling along the M8 trunk road. Secondary sources are derived from vehicles travelling along nearby local network roads and day-to-day agricultural activities.

Population and human health

There are several residential, one farmstead, one industrial, and one commercial property within 300m of the scheme extents. The closest of these is a residential property located approximately 70m south of the scheme extents. This and all residential properties within 300m are well-screened from the scheme extents.

There are no local access roads, laybys, footpaths, or street lighting within the scheme extents.

There are no core paths within 300m of the scheme extents (North Lanarkshire Core Paths).

The scheme extents are located on the M8 Eastbound carriageway which is a motorway with the national speed limit applying throughout. The average daily traffic (ADT) is high (63,454 motor vehicles (ID: JTC00028, 2025 data)) (Drakewell Data).

Road drainage and the water environment

There is one SEPA classified surface waterbody within 300m of the scheme extents:

• “How Burn” (ID: 3031) is a river in the River Almond catchment area. It passes below the M8 carriageway to the east and west of the scheme extents, passing approximately 50m north of the scheme extents at its closest point. It has a main stem approximately 8km in length, and was given an overall status of “Poor” by SEPA in 2024.

There are six unclassified waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents. Five of these are drains which feed into How Burn, and one is a large pond located within the nearby quarry. Their details are:

• Drain 1 is located approximately 20m north of the scheme extents
• Drain 2 is located approximately 80m north of the scheme extents
• Drain 3 is located approximately 125m north of the scheme extents
• The pond is located approximately 145m south of the scheme extents
• Drain 4 is located approximately 250m north of the scheme extents
• Drain 5 is located approximately 255m north of the scheme extents

These waterbodies are too small (in terms of catchment area) to be classified as a main stem waterbody by SEPA under the WFD.

A search of the SEPA Flood Map online mapping tool shows there are some areas of increased flood risk within the scheme extents, associated with the hard shoulder and lane 1. These areas have a low (0.1%) to medium (0.5%) risk of flooding each year.

The scheme extents lie within the Armadale (ID: 150608) groundwater basin (SEPA). It was given an overall status of “Poor” by SEPA in 2024.

A search of the Scotland's Environment (SE) determined that the trunk road, within the scheme extents, does not lie within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).

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).