A82 Management Strategy Consultation Responses
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A82 Management Strategy Consultation Response Consultee Date Contacted Date Issue Raised Forestry Commission Response Response Received Forestry 7th June 2012 by 13th June 2012 None at this stage Commission – email Highland Conservancy Scottish 7th June 2012 by 20th July 2012 Need to consider Glen Etive and Loch Fyne SPA runs to Natural email Moriston SAC and Glen the south of A82 in Ballachulish area Heritage Etive & Glen Fyne SPA’s. but not within the immediate A82 Strategy area. Moriston is a riverine SAC which our operations have the potential to impact on within the immediate environs of the outflow around Invermoriston. Robust management of our operations in accordance with our Forestry and Water guidelines will be practised and this will compliment the requirements made by SEPA. Seek advice from local All other protected species will be SNH offices in advance managed through the work plan of ops planning process, supported by site survey. Landscape impacts will be addressed through normal FDP process. Scottish 7th June 2012 by 20th July 2012 Need to consider Pollution prevention will be an Environmental email pollution prevention to important element of operational pre- Protection be added to guiding planning and subsequent delivery. 1 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy Agency principles and additional The work will be closely supervised pollution mitigation and managed but we agree that measures may be additional measures may be needed needed above those and we will seek advice from SEPA specified in UK Forestry staff during the work planning stages. Standard Contact SNH and local Operational staff may need to seek fishery trusts to advice from SEPA and SNH where it is establish if sensitive thought that there will be an receptors or salmon exceptional risk to the environment. breeding grounds may In the majority of cases the principal be affected. risk will be to the A82 and its users, not the wider environment. FC needs to identify an The A82 Project officer would be the overall responsible officer best placed to deal with officer to whom the specific concerns over environmental public or public agencies issues. can address any concerns over environmental issues. Fell to Recycle cannot be We agree and the term “Fell to considered “recycling” Recyle” is perhaps misleading. What under current legislation we really mean is the felling and and proposals to leave leaving to decompose of small areas material to decompose of conifers or individual trees when it on site will only gain an is either not economical or safe to exemption if it can be extract them from the forest. This demonstrated to provide type of operation will only be carried ecological benefits. out where necessary for safety or 2 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy environmental reasons. Amend Strategy to take Waste management is relevant to our into consideration the operations but this will be covered in waste management the operational plans for each specific implications felling coupe rather than in the Strategy. Need to consider We have undertaken a pre-screening responsibilities under the assessment of the Strategy using the Environmental criteria specified in Schedule 2 of the Assessment (Scotland) Act, and have determined that this Act 2005 (SEA) strategy will have no or minimal effect on the environment and as such is exempt from SEA requirements. Historic 7th June 2012 by 23rd July 2012 Work is unlikely to have We agree. We are in the process of Scotland email significant impacts upon arranging heritage surveys in any nationally important advance of our operations and our heritage features so no work will be managed through our specific comments to normal work plan process. There is make now - happy to nothing exceptional being proposed provide advice as work through the Strategy and Forests and progresses Archaeological guidelines will apply, however, our staff will seek advice from Historic Scotland if needed. Highland 7th June 2012 by No response Council email received 3 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy Scottish Canals 7th June 2012 by 25th July 2012 FC should consider Most of the timber will be extracted – Caledonian email moving timber via the uphill away from the A82 and onto Canal canal instead of by road internal forest roads. From there where practical lorries are the only mode of transport that can then move the timber to the mill. It would be cost prohibitive to move the timber to a shipping / barge point particularly as the distances between the forest and mills are comparatively short. There is also no existing pier facility on Loch Ness side to handle timber. However we do continue to look for shipping options where road transport is not practicable or cost effective. Ballachulish CC 7th June 2012 by No response post received Nether 7th June 2012 by No response Lochaber CC post received Fort William CC 7th June 2012 by No response post received Spean Bridge 7th June 2012 by No response CC post received Glengarry CC 7th June 2012 by No response post received Fort Augustus 7th June 2012 by No response 4 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy and post received Glenmoriston CC Inverlochy and 7th June 2012 by No response Torlundy CC post received Inverness West 7th June 2012 by No response CC post received Stratherrick 7th June 2012 by No response and Foyers CC post received Glen Urquhart 7th June 2012 by 17th July 2012 Need to reduce impact of Yes we will consider carrying out CC post traffic management – work outside normal working hours work outside normal where it is safe to do so to reduce the hours impact of traffic management. Scottish and 8th June 2012 by 24th Aug 2012 Close communications Yes. Very close liaison will be Southern email will be required between required. The proposed work will be Energy FCS and SSE at the discussed at a strategic level with our coupe planning stage. Area Operations Manager and at an operational level with our harvesting At much notice as manager. possible is required so We will aim to give a year’s notice of SSE has a better chance our outline operational plans where of fulfilling any outage electric lines are likely to be affected request and all trees and a minimum of a month’s notice of within felling distance of an actual start date of operations. the line should be cleared during harvesting to protect network integrity. 5 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy Northern 8th June 2012 by 4th July 2012 Strategy proposals do No complete closures like the full Constabularly email not cause any undue weekend closure of the A82 in Dec (representing problems as long as 2011 for the removal of the boulder complete closures are are currently being planned. There Fire and for a minimal period and will be a need for short closures to Ambulance that should emergency help facilitate tree felling operations Services also) access be required this is but we will liaise with the emergency facilitated services to ensure provision for Resources must be in emergency access is made. place for the road to be We are developing an emergency reopened swiftly if there response plan for the A82 corridor are any unforeseen that will help us deal with emergency major rockfalls or situations such as a landslide, rockfall landslides on to the road or windblown trees. However, such incidents may need a multi-agency response including Transport Scotland and the emergency services in addition to FCS staff and resources. Transport 8th June 2012 by 9th August Member of TS’s Trunk We welcome the ongoing involvement Scotland (TS) email 2012 Road and Bus Operations of TS in the planning and delivery of management team will our operations. We are required to be appointed to liase engage with Transport Scotland (and with FCS and TS would its Road Network Operator) in respect want to be involved in of road traffic management but the future community support and advice to date has been engagement work invaluable in the successful delivery FCS need to consider the of the Glen Righ operations to date. use of innovative We have been and still are harvesting techniques to considering the use of innovative 6 | A82 Management Strategy Response | Alex Macleod | 02/10/2012 A82 Management Strategy minimise the impact of harvesting techniques. We are harvesting on the A82. currently exploring the use of The use of helicopters helicopter extraction and will look into during timber extraction, the feasibility of using protective safe guarding of road shelters during harvesting. We will users through the use of also consider the use of forest roads mobile shelter canopies as temporary diversion routes but during harvesting and this may only be feasible along whether the forest road limited sections and given the nature can be used as a of forest roads might only be diversion route should all available as a temporary diversion for be investigated. four wheel drive emergency vehicles. Dores & Essich 11th June 2012 No response CC by post received Strathnairn CC 11th June 2012 14th Sept by Concern expressed that No closures of the A82 along Loch by post phone closures of the A82 at Ness side are currently being Loch Ness for harvesting planned. However future harvesting would result in increased operations in this area will mean a traffic on the B851 requirement for traffic management through villages on but we will liaise with Transport South Loch Ness. Scotland, local communities and others at an early stage during the planning of this.