Thumbs up for pit plan for dualling of A9 work Councillors to give final nod
Councillors have been advised to approve a company’s application to form a borrow pit plus concrete and asphalt plants off the A9 north of Perth.
Breedon Northern wants to extract around 400,000 tonnes of sand and gravel from a site around one-and-a-quarter-miles south of Bankfoot and process it there so it can be used to complete the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section of the A9 dualling.
Planning officials have recommended the council’s planning and development management committee approve the application subject to at least 29 separate conditions including one asking for a land restoration scheme to be submitted within six months - at its next meeting this Wednesday.
It follows a warning from Scottish Natural Heritage they would object to the proposal unless it was made subject to a specific condition designed to prevent pollution and sediment from the site south of Loak Farm leaking into a tributary of the River Tay.
Their appraisal of the application said: “In our view, this proposal is likely to have a significant effect on the qualifying interests of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation (SAC); these are Atlantic salmon, river lamprey and sea lamprey.
“Consequently, PKC, as competent authority, is required to carry out an appropriate assessment in view of the site’s conservation objectives for its qualifying interests.
“We recommend that a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) be a condition of planning, and this should detail mitigation measures to prevent any sediments and pollution from entering the Ordie Burn which is part of the River Tay SAC.”
A report already seen by development management committee members says Breedon Northern will be expected to submit a CEMP at least two months before it starts to form the pit and its plants incorporating a site waste management plan, a drainage management plan and environmental management plan. It adds the operation of the site will need to be licensed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
It further says a new temporary junction will be added onto the A9 to let trucks access the site more freely and could end up being used for up to two and half years during the A9 dualling project.
The document states: “During that time the A9(T) will be dualled past the site, so there will be a period of time when the junction will fall within the road dualling construction works, with traffic management measures and a potential need for consequent changes to the junction geometry.
“Until a contractor is appointed and a work programme prepared for the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section exact details of traffic management proposals and changes to the borrow pit junction requirements, and their duration, are unknown.”