Cross Tay Link Road

The purpose of this digital Non-Technical Summary (NTS) is to summarise the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) Project. The NTS provides a summary of the contents of the EIA Report (EIAR) prepared by Sweco to accompany the planning application for:

“Formation of the Cross Tay Link Road and associated works.”

Consultation with landowners and tenants is ongoing and it is normal practice for the details of accommodation works to continue beyond the EIAR process. However, agreed mitigation measures and accommodation works will be included within the construction contract. Although some specific details are unknown at this stage, it is assumed for the purposes of the residual impact assessment, that appropriate mitigation such as field and steading accesses will be provided.

In addition, the accommodation works would include the installation of a temporary fishing hut to the south of the proposed River Tay Crossing Bridge. There will also be the relocation of the existing fishing hut. The relocation of the existing fishing hut is expected to reduce noise levels and permission for the permanent relocation will be sought under a separate planning application by the relevant land owner.  

It is anticipated that construction methods required for all elements of the proposed CTLR Project are likely to have environmental implications. As such, the construction phase for the project has been a key consideration in the EIA.

Construction of the proposed CTLR Project is currently programmed to commence in late 2021, with the construction period expected to last until 2024. The appointed Contractor shall be responsible for preparing their own programme for the construction works which will require approval by the Developer. This programme will be required to take account of any restrictions contained in the Contract and this EIAR.

The proposed CTLR Project will require temporary works to enable the western pier of the River Tay Crossing Bridge to be constructed. The pier is located between the Highland Mainline Railway and the River Tay. To provide safe and sufficient access, a number of potential temporary access options have been considered.

These options can be summarised as:

1. Option 1 – access from the south via a temporary bridge crossing of the River Almond, travelling northwards on the east side of the railway to the bridge location;
2. Option 2 – access from the west over and under the Highland Mainline Railway, travelling eastwards to the bridge location; and
3. Option 3 – access from the north via the existing Luncarty junction, travelling southwards to the bridge location. 

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An EIA of the proposed CTLR Project is required under European and Scottish legislation. The EIAR reports the findings of the EIA.

The purpose of the EIA is to investigate the likely significant effects of the proposed CTLR Project on the environment. The EIA has been undertaken in line with relevant legislation and guidance.

Details about likely impacts of the proposed CTLR Project can be found in the EIAR. For ease of use, the EIAR is presented across three documents as follows:

• Volume 1: Non-Technical Summary
• Volume 2: EIAR
• Volume 3: Cumulative Effects Assessment

The EIA process provides an opportunity to minimise potential environment effects through design refinement. Environmental constraints and issues have been identified through consultation, extensive environmental surveys and technical assessments. The information gathered has informed decision-making throughout the design process. This has provided the opportunity to address potentially significant impacts where practicable, for example, by refinement of the proposed CTLR Project or by incorporation of measures to avoid or reduce potential adverse impacts.

Impacts have been assessed by comparing the existing situation (baseline) to the expected conditions that would occur in the opening year (2023) and the design year (2038 = opening year + 15 years).

In accordance with the requirements of the Town & Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) has been submitted to Perth & Kinross Council.

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Consultation has been undertaken to:

• seek feedback and comments from Statutory and Non-Statutory Consultees on environmental aspects of the proposed CTLR Project;
• to ensure Statutory Consultees, other Non-Statutory bodies and the public are informed about the proposed CTLR Project and are provided an opportunity to comment;
• to obtain information relevant to the baseline and to inform the environmental assessments; and
• to agree survey and assessment methodologies where relevant.

Over 90 meetings with Statutory, Non-Statutory and interested parties have been held since September 2017 and these have been recorded in the Consultation Diary which has been submitted with this EIAR.

Two rounds of public exhibitions (Spring 2018 and August 2019) have been undertaken at a number of different locations (for more information please refer to the Pre-Application Consultation Report). 

The purpose of the two rounds of public exhibitions (Spring 2018 and August 2019) was to provide the local community with a number of opportunities to keep them updated with progress, to present them with the latest information and most importantly to give them opportunity to continue to comment on and contribute to the proposed CTLR Project and the evolving design.

Feedback from the public exhibitions held in August 2019 was predominately positive:

1. Impressive display materials
2. Well planned design of the CTLR
3. Priority given to active travel
4. Keen to see the road in place
5. Environmental Enhancements (particularly Highfield Green Bridge and SuDS Wetland Area)

However, there were some concerns raised, the main ones being around the traffic modelling, the project being long overdue, existing congestion at Inveralmond roundabout and traffic increases, with particular reference to HGVs, affecting communities along the A94 to the north of Scone.

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 make provision for a Developer (the Council’s Road and Infrastructure team) to write to a relevant competent authority (the Council’s Planning Authority) and request a formal opinion, in writing, of the information to be provided in the EIAR. This is called a Scoping Opinion.

The principal aim of the EIA scoping exercise for the proposed CTLR Project was to establish the key issues to be considered as part of the EIA. This exercise has also informed the evaluation of the significance of the predicted environmental effects of the proposals and has identified key issues for the assessment.

A Scoping Request was prepared by the EIA team to identify the proposed ‘scope’ and information requirements for the EIA and content of this EIAR.

A formal request for a Scoping Opinion was made to the Council’s Planning Authority on the 12 September 2018. The Council’s Planning Officer provided their Scoping Opinion on 23 October 2018. This opinion has been used to inform the assessments undertaken for this EIAR.

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The EIA has considered the following topics:

Hard copies of the EIAR may be purchased at a cost of £1,000 or electronic copies can be provided for £25 (including VAT) by writing to:

• Roads Infrastructure Team, Planning & Development, Perth and Kinross Council, Pullar House, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD; or
• you can email your request to roadsinfrastructure@pkc.gov.uk

Hard copies of the NTS are available free of charge on request by writing to the postal or email address above.

Any person wishing to express an opinion on the EIAR can do so in the following ways:

1. Accessing the Perth and Kinross  online planning system , search for the application and click on the comment tab;
2. Writing to the Planning and Development team at Pullar House; or
3. Emailing developmentmanagement@pkc.gov.uk

Formal representations are invited 30 days after the advertised date of publication.

You can keep up to date with the project at the  Perth Transport Futures Website .

To view the PDF of the Non-Technical Summary please click:

Produced by E. Cooper (Sweco)