The project will involve a number of improvements to the local wildlife and biodiversity in the area. This will include landscaping and grassland/wildflower planting to create new maritime grassland habitat or the creation of new dunes and improved protection of existing dunes. This also includes removal of invasive plant species.
The project has been designed accounting for the Firth of Tay’s status as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) to ensure the proposals meet regulatory environmental and conservation requirements. Key statutory and legislative stakeholders such as SEPA, NatureScot and Marine Scotland are fully appraised of the scheme.
The proposals were also assessed by an independent Environmental Consultant, who undertook a Report to Inform an Appropriate Assessment (RIAA). This involved an analysis of the existing environmental features of the area and compared these against the proposals for the project. This report also considered the individual effects on the various species in the area and proposed mitigation measures. These measures have either been embedded into the permanent design or are constraints placed on the contractor’s programme and working methods. For example, the report highlighted areas of low biodiversity such as the grassed area west of the Balmossie pumping station and these will be enhanced with wildflower planting as part of the scheme. Similarly, the survey encountered detrimental areas of invasive plant species along the route which will be replaced with appropriate native planting, again with biodiversity improvements. The reporting also confirmed that a planned change in alignment of the current route, with associated plant screening, would provide a long-term benefit to bird-roosting in the area near the Balmossie stormwater outlet.
In summary, the RIAA concluded that, for potentially adversely affected features, habitat and species-specific mitigation measures in place for the project will ensure that the conservation objectives of the SAC and SPA will be met during and after construction. It further concluded that the proposals will not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the SAC or SPA.
