RSPB claims A9 dualling road to nowhere for birds
RSPB Scotland has major concerns that the proposed A9 dual carriageway will wreak havoc on one of Europe's most important natural floodplain for birds.
The charity claims the project could represent a win-win for transport and wildlife but plans for upgrading the road by Insh Marshes National Nature Reserve fall well short.
Reserve owner RSPB Scotland is disappointed said it will be objecting to the proposals as they stand.
Transport Scotland published the orders for upgrading the A9 between Crubenmore and Kincraig last month, along with maps showing the land which they intend to acquire using compulsory purchase powers.
They are accompanied by an environmental statement prepared by the transport agency on the predicted impacts and the measures proposed to address them.
An RSPB spokeswoman told the Strathy: "The dualling will be built on a part of the reserve that is most important for a variety of wader bird species including lapwings, oystercatchers, redshanks and snipe, all of which have suffered significant population declines in recent years.
"The proposed road scheme would result in the permanent loss of five football pitches worth of national nature reserve land, lost mainly underneath the footprint of the new road and its embankments. Added to this, a further four football pitches' worth of the reserve land would be temporarily lost to the construction site to accommodate the construction activities and the associated diggers, cranes and other heavy machinery.
"But the effects of the road scheme on the reserve's wildlife will extend far beyond the extent of roadworks activities.
"The noise and activity associated with the A9 construction works, and the increased traffic flows and the imposing road structure once the road is completed, will cause many birds to keep their distance and not attempt to nest or feed within several hundred metres of the road site."
Transport Scotland has bought land at Dellmore near Insh Marshes and proposes to convert some of this to wet grassland to accommodate the homeless wader bird species from Insh. While RSPB Scotland has welcomed this, the charity said it will be hard to convert this land for the waders, and maintain it as such over the long-term.
The spokeswoman said: "It is far from guaranteed it will provide suitable habitat, and even if it does, the new habitat will not be big enough or suitable to rehome all of the waders that would be made homeless. Neither will it address other harm to wildlife."
Karen Birkby, RSPB Scotland's site manager at Insh Marshes, said several suggestions made to Transport Scotland to minimise impact on the nature reserve have been ignored.
Aviemore Community Council made similar claims last week that their concerns had fallen on stoney ground over plans to construction the dual carriageway on the village side of the current A9 as part of the Dalraddy-Slochd section. They said it will impact on the popular Milton Woods.
Ms Birkby said: "We have continually made the case for protecting the exceptional wildlife of Insh Marshes, minimising harmful impacts, and maximising environmental benefits such as enhancing or providing suitable new habitat nearby.
"While we welcome the intention of converting some land at Dellmore to wet grassland, it is far from guaranteed that it will provide suitable habitat for all the wildlife affected.
"We understand the need for the A9 dualling but believe that it can be built in a way which minimises its impact.
"We have suggested several ways in which Transport Scotland could do this but disappointingly, they are not proposing these measures in the latest plans, so there is a real risk that the road scheme will result in long-term harm to a variety of wildlife.
"We encourage local people to view the proposals online or attend the public exhibition and raise their concerns before the deadline of October 16."
The proposals for Crubenmore to Kincraig went on show yesterday in Newtonmore Village Hall. They go on display today from 11am to 7pm at Talla nan Ros on King Street in Kingussie.
Transport Scotland's proposals are at www.transport.gov.scot/publication/draft-orders-and-environmental-statement-crubenmore-to-kincraig-a9-dualling
