Description of Local Environment

Air quality

Receptors – refer to ‘Population and Human Health’.

A search of the Air Quality in Scotland online mapping records that air quality monitoring sites in the wider area record bandings in the ‘green zone’ (Low Index 1-3).

The scheme lies within the boundary of Fife Council, which has no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within its administrative boundary. The nearest active AQMA lies within the boundary of the City of Edinburgh Council, ‘Air Quality Management Area Glasgow Road 2013’, located approx. 12.1km south of the scheme, declared for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

There are 13 sites registered on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) for pollutant releases to air within the last 10 years, within 10km of the scheme:

  • Muir Dean Coal Site, Drumcooper Farm Crossgate – Mineral Industry, declared for carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, located approx. 1.6km northeast of the scheme.
  • Elmbank Poultry Farm, Crossgates, Fife – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia and methane, located approx. 2.4km northeast of the scheme.
  • Mossbank Poultry Farm, Cowdenbeath, Fife – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia, located approx. 4.1km northeast of the scheme.
  • Rosyth Dockyard, Dunfermline – Other Activities, declared for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), located approx. 4.1km southwest of the scheme.
  • Craigies Poultry Farm, Townhill, Dunfermline – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia, located approx. 5.3km northwest of the scheme.
  • Fife Ethylene Plant, Mossmorran – Chemical Industry, declared for benzene, butadiene, CO2, carbon monoxide, ethylene, methane, nitrogen oxide (NO) as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), NMVOCs, particulate matter (PM) and toluene, located approx. 5.8km northeast of the scheme.
  • Fife Council, Lochead Landfill, By Wellwood, Fife – Waste and Waste-Water Management, declared for CO2, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and methane, located approx. 6.1km northwest of the scheme.
  • Glendevon Poultry Farm, Wagon Road, Dunfermline – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia, located approx. 6.3km west of the scheme.
  • Fife Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Plant, Cowdenbeath – Energy Sector, declared for CO2, carbon monoxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), methane, NO2, nitrous oxide, NMVOCs, sulphur monoxide, sulphur dioxide (SO2), located approx. 6.4km northeast of the scheme.
  • Greenhouse Poultry Farm, Kelty, Fife – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia, located approx. 7km northwest of the scheme.
  • Dalmeny Hound Point, South Queensferry – Energy Sector, declared for HCFCs, methane and NMVOCs, located approx. 4.1km southwest of the scheme.
  • Units 10 and 12, Lochgelly Industrial Park, Lochgelly – Chemical Industry, declared for perfluorocarbons (PFCs), located approx. 9km northeast of the scheme.
  • Saline Farms, (Saline and Dinmoss) – Intensive Livestock Production and Aquaculture, declared for ammonia, located approx. 9.8km northwest of the scheme.

Baseline air quality in the study area is mainly influenced by vehicles travelling along the M90 trunk road. Secondary sources are derived from vehicles travelling along nearby local network roads and day-to-day woodland and agricultural land management activities.

Cultural heritage

The PastMap and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) online mapping tools records seven designated sites within 300m of the scheme extents, consisting of one Garden and Designed Landscape, one Scheduled Monument, one Battlefield and four Listed Buildings (three records of which pertain to the same Listed Building):

  • Battle of Inverkeithing II (BTL23) lies within the southern extents of the scheme.
  • Middlebank House, Souterrain 370m Ene of Scheduled Monument (SM8554) lies approx. 130m southwest of the scheme.
  • Old Duloch House, Including Former Stables, Boundary Walls, Gatepiers and Walled Garden (LB9981) lies approx. 250m west of the scheme (three records).
  • Fordell Castle Garden and Designed Landscapes (GDL00182) lies approx. 260m east of the scheme.
  • Fordell Estate, North West Gate (Off B981) Listed Building (LB4963) lies approx. 290m east of the scheme.

Of lesser cultural heritage value, 19 undesignated cultural heritage assets (UCHAs) lie within 300m of the scheme extents, the closest of which lies approx. 33m west of the scheme:

  • Middle Den Canmore (ID: 345584).

Construction of the M90 carriageway 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 is therefore assessed to be low.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme is not situated within a National Scenic Area or National Park (NP).

The Landscape Character Type (LCT) within the study area is ‘Lowland Hills and Valleys’ (no. 186), the characteristics of which are:

  • Variety and subtlety of landform.
  • Generally dominated by open, regular farmland patterns of medium scale fields of arable and grasslands.
  • Variable pattern of post and wire fences and mostly tall hedges with hedgerow trees.
  • Extensive areas of forestry, shelter planting, roadside planting and policies linked to large estates.
  • Regular, often linear, pattern of the distribution of steadings and larger settlements and towns, all of which are generally well related to the landscape. Towns in valleys enclosed by the landform of low hills which form a rural backdrop.
  • Network of roads often well related to landform.
  • Dominant linear and point features of forests and tree groups, individual trees or local buildings.
  • A generally tended, safe, quiet, balanced and calm landscape, but also a busy, random, disturbed and noise one in the more urban, industrialised areas.
  • Variety of interrelated middle- and long-distance views of, from and across the low hills.

Land use within 300m of the scheme is categorised into the following:

  • Motorway and major roads.
  • Rectilinear fields and farms.
  • Designed landscape.
  • Recreation area.
  • Urban area.
  • Managed woodland.
  • Rough grazing.

The national scale land capability for agriculture classifies land surrounding the scheme as being:

  • ‘Class 3.2’ - Land capable of average production though high yields of barley, oats and grass can be obtained. Grass leys are common.

There are six areas of woodland registered on the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland (NWSS) within 300m of the scheme extents, all of which are described as lowland mixed deciduous and located as follows:

  • 0.9ha lies adjacent to the southbound carriageway within the scheme extents.
  • 1.7ha lies adjacent to the southbound carriageway within the scheme extents.
  • 3.7ha lies approx. 29m west of the scheme.
  • 1.8ha lies approx. 237m northwest of the scheme.
  • 1.4ha lies approx. 240m east of the scheme.
  • 6.1ha lies approx. 260m east of the scheme.

Furthermore, there are three areas of woodland on the Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland, all of which are assessed to be long-established of plantation origin, within 300m of the scheme extents:

  • Unnamed site (4.03ha) lies approx. 58m southeast of the scheme.
  • Unnamed site (5.7ha) lies approx. 209m east of the scheme.
  • Fordell Castle Woods (19.27ha) lies approx. 260m east of the scheme.

In addition, two areas of broadleaved woodland lie within 300m of the scheme extents:

  • 0.5ha lies approx. 192m west of the scheme.
  • 0.9ha lies approx. 205m north of the scheme.

There are no trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) with connectivity to the scheme extents.

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 NatureScot Sitelink online mapping tool identifies that the scheme is not situated within 2km of, and does not share connectivity with, a ‘European Site’ designated for biodiversity features e.g., SAC, SPA, Ramsar site, etc.

There are no Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSI), Local Nature Conservation Sites (LNCS) or Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) designated for biodiversity features within 300m of the scheme extents.

A search of the NBN online mapping tool records the following plant species as listed within the Network Management Contract within 2km of the scheme extents (within the last 10-years):

Four Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS):

  • Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica).
  • Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).
  • Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera).
  • Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum).

Five Injurious Weeds:

  • Broadleaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius).
  • Common ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris).
  • Spear thistle (Cirsiumvulgare).
  • Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense).
  • Curled dock (Rumex crispus).

One Invasive Native Perennial:

  • Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium).

The closest record pertains to injurious weeds broadleaved dock (recorded 2020) and common ragwort (recorded 2020) approx. 169m west of the scheme.

A search of the Asset Management Performance System (AMPS) records no INNS, injurious weeds or invasive native perennials within the scheme extents.

Habitat immediately bordering the trunk road tends to be of low intrinsic value because the existing road verge is subject to cyclic maintenance e.g., grass cutting, weed control, tree, and shrub cut-back etc. The roadside verges therefore comprise a homogenous species-poor semi-improved grassland. Roadside vegetation generally offers low ecological habitat due to its limited scale, fragmented nature and high potential for disturbance owing to cyclic trunk road landscape maintenance, and the proximity of the trunk road (with its fast-flowing traffic). The presence of the trunk road also restricts continuity of, and connectivity between, habitats either side of the trunk road boundary.

Out with the trunk road boundary, agricultural land dominates areas to east of the scheme, forming a pattern of open and exposed fields containing both arable and pastoral land with urban developments located west of the scheme and a large warehouse to the northwest. Field boundaries consist of wooden fencing with linear features such as tree lines and roadside vegetation within the wider areas also having wildlife value, both as corridors in an intensively managed landscape, and as habitats for birds and other small animals.

Geology and soils

The M90 within the scheme extents is not located within 300m of a Geological Conservation Review Site (GCRS), and there are no Local Geodiversity Sites (LGS) within 300m of the scheme extents.

The National Soil Map of Scotland online mapping tool records the generalised soil types beneath the scheme extents as the following:

  • Brown soils.
  • Mineral gleys.

The major soil groups beneath the scheme extents are:

  • Brown soils.

The British Geological Survey online mapping tool records that the superficial geology within the scheme extents is comprised of:

  • Till, Devensian (Diamicton).

The bedrock geology in the scheme extents is recorded as:

  • Lower Limestone Formation, Sedimentary Rocky Cycles (Clackmannan Group Type).
  • Second Hosie Limestone (Limestone).

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

Given that works are restricted to like-for-like replacement of the existing road surface within the carriageway boundary with no earthworks are required, there is no potential to impact upon geology and soils. Therefore, geology and soils has been scoped out of further environmental assessment.

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are required to replace the worn carriageway surface and reinstate road markings. Materials used will consist of:

  • TS2020 10mm Surface Course Site Class 1.
  • AC20 Dense Binder (approx. 25% recycled).
  • AC32 Dense Base (approx. 25% recycled).
  • Tack/Bond Coat.
  • Paving Grade Bitumen.
  • Weather Line Road Markings.
  • Embedded and Surface Mounted Road Studs.

As the value of the scheme is greater than £350,000, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) will be produced for these works.

The 1,830m scheme involves removal of the surface course and localised base and binder. In total, approx. 3720 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

Receptors – refer to ‘Population and Human Health’.

Works are not located within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) or Candidate Quiet Areas (CQA).

The night-time modelled noise level (LNGT) ranges between 70 and 75 decibels (dB) within the scheme extents (Scotland’s Noise), with levels dropping to between 65 and 70 dB at the nearest noise sensitive receptor (NSR) (i.e., residential property).

The baseline noise and vibration in the scheme extents is primarily influenced by vehicles travelling along the M90 trunk road. Secondary sources are derived from vehicles travelling along nearby local network roads and agricultural land management activities.

Population and human health

Numerous residential properties and a commercial property lie within 300m of the scheme extents, the closest of which lies approx. 36m west of the scheme (residential property) and are only partially screened from the scheme by roadside embankments. The remaining residential properties in the wider area are fully screened from the scheme by steep roadside embankments and intervening properties.

In addition, Little Bugs Outdoor Nursery at Fordell Firs lies approx. 250m east of the scheme and is fully screened from the scheme by roadside tree shelterbelt.

Core Path R649 lies within the scheme extents however, crossing the M90 via an overbridge on Aberdour Road (B916). There are no additional community facilities with connectivity to the scheme extents.

Street lighting is not present within the scheme extents.

The M90, within the scheme extents, is a motorway with the national speed limit applying throughout. The Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) flow is high (65,102 motor vehicles (ID: 30707, 2023)) (Road Traffic Statistics).

Road drainage and the water environment

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) River Basin Management Plan online mapping tool records no classified surface waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents.

There are six unclassified waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents:

  • Pinkerton Burn is culverted beneath the scheme at the southern end of the scheme and is separated from the scheme by raised roadside embankment and tree shelterbelt.
  • Drain1 is also culverted beneath the scheme extents within the northern extents of the scheme and is separated from the scheme by roadside verge and tree shelterbelt.
  • Drain2 lies approx. 19m east of the scheme and is separated from the scheme by roadside verge.
  • One balancing pond lies approx. 49m west of the scheme and is separated from the scheme by roadside verge.
  • Drain3 lies approx. 213m east of the scheme.
  • Balbougie Glen lies approx. 241m east of the scheme.

A search of the SEPA’s Flood Map online mapping tool records that the southern extents of the scheme are at a medium risk of surface water flooding (i.e., each year this area has a 0.5% chance of flooding).

A search of Scotland's Environment (SE) online mapping tool determined that the trunk road lies on the ‘Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy’ groundwater, which has been classified as being in ‘Poor’ condition.

The scheme extents do not lie within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).

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 (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). 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.