A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (Including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal
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A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3: Habitat Regulations Appraisal B2103500/EN/EIA/RP/002 | 1 November 2016 A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal Blank page A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) Habitat Regulations Appraisal Screening Report November 2015 A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) Project No: B2103500 Document Title: DMRB Stage 3: Habitat Regulations Appraisal Document No.: B2103500/EN/HRA/RP/001 Revision: 2 Date: November 2016 Client Name: Transport Scotland Project Manager: Helen Gregory Author: John Fowbert Jacobs U.K. Limited 160 Dundee Street Edinburgh EH11 1DQ United Kingdom T +44 (0)131 659 1500 F +44 (0)131 228 6177 www.jacobs.com © Copyright 2016 Jacobs U.K. Limited. The concepts and information contained in this document are the property of Jacobs. Use or copying of this document in whole or in part without the written permission of Jacobs constitutes an infringement of copyright. Limitation: This report has been prepared on behalf of, and for the exclusive use of Jacobs’ Client, and is subject to, and issued in accordance with, the provisions of the contract between Jacobs and the Client. Jacobs accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for, or in respect of, any use of, or reliance upon, this report by any third party. A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................................................... i 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Habitats Directive and European/Ramsar Sites ............................................................................ 2 1.3 DMRB Stage 3 Environmental Statement and Wintering Birds Report ................................................. 2 1.4 Consultation ......................................................................................................................................... 2 2 Requirement for HRA .................................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 The HRA Process ................................................................................................................................ 2 2.2 Guidance .............................................................................................................................................. 4 3 The Proposed Scheme ............................................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 General Description ............................................................................................................................. 5 3.3 Construction Working Practices ........................................................................................................... 8 3.4 Construction Programme ..................................................................................................................... 8 4 DMRB Stage 2 HRA ..................................................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Sites Included in the DMRB Stage 2 HRA ............................................................................................ 9 4.3 DMRB Stage 2 HRA: Screening (Stage One) .................................................................................... 10 4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 11 5 Potential Effects of the Proposed Scheme ............................................................................................. 11 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 11 5.2 Activities of the Proposed Scheme ..................................................................................................... 11 5.3 Potential Effects ................................................................................................................................. 12 6 DMRB Stage 3 HRA: Screening (Stage One) .......................................................................................... 14 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 14 6.2 Sites Unlikely to be Significantly Affected by the Proposed Scheme .................................................. 14 6.3 Sites Potentially Affected by the Proposed Scheme ........................................................................... 14 6.4 Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 26 7 DMRB Stage 3 HRA: Appropriate Assessment (Stage Two) ................................................................. 26 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 26 7.2 Inner Moray Firth SPA, Moray and Nairn Coast SPA, Inner Moray Firth Ramsar Site, Moray Firth and Nairn Coast Ramsar Site ............................................................................................................................... 27 7.3 Loch Flemington SPA ......................................................................................................................... 46 7.4 Summary of Stage Two Assessment ................................................................................................. 49 8 In-combination Assessment .................................................................................................................... 49 9 Summary and Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 57 10 References ................................................................................................................................................ 58 i A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal Appendix A: European/Ramsar Sites .............................................................................................................. 64 Appendix B: Species Recorded during Wintering Bird Surveys ................................................................... 69 Figures ............................................................................................................................................................... 71 ii A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) DMRB Stage 3 Habitats Regulations Appraisal 1 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.1.1 The Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) (Transport Scotland 2008) recommended a number of road and rail based interventions to take forward within the Aberdeen to Inverness corridor. Specific trunk road interventions that emerged from the review included upgrading the A96 between Inverness and Nairn to dual carriageway (Intervention 18) and a bypass of Nairn (Intervention 22). 1.1.2 On 6 December 2011, the then Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment launched the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) which provides an overview of the Scottish Government’s plans for infrastructure investment over the coming decades. Contained within the document is a commitment to complete the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030. 1.1.3 On 9 May 2013 the then Minister for Transport and Veterans set out how the A96 dualling programme would be taken forward. The outline strategy identified packages of design and development work to be progressed over the following few years with the objective of completing the full dualling as indicated above. These packages of work included route option assessment work for the section of the A96 between Inverness and Nairn, including a Nairn Bypass, to reflect the commitment to dual the entire route. 1.1.4 In addition to these considerations in respect of the transport network, The Highland Council has also developed land-use planning proposals which include increased future development along the A96 corridor. This is currently detailed in The Highland-wide Local Development Plan (HwLDP) (The Highland Council 2012a) and the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan (IMFLDP) (The Highland Council 2015a). 1.1.5 Jacobs were commissioned to undertake a Design Manual