Highways Agency

• Environmental Effects - Part One
• Environmental Effects - Part Two
• Policies and Plans
• Summary of Environmental Effects

Environmental Effects - Part One

The proposals could cause a number of environmental effects. In the Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement you will find an Environmental Constraints Plan, which outlines the most significant constraints along the Scheme. This document is available in the Publications section.  The design aims to avoid harming the local environment as far as is practicable.

Printed copies of the full Environmental Statement can be purchased at a cost of £140 each or are available free of charge on CD ROM. To obtain copies, you should contact Balfour Beatty/Scott Wilson at the following address:

A46 Project Office
Royal Court
Basil Close
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S41 7SL

Further details of the environmental effects of the Scheme and how they will be managed are given in the following sections.

Additionally an Appraisal Summary Table can also be accessed from the Publications Page and is a summary of key consequences relating to the environmental, economic and social impacts of this scheme.

Cultural Heritage

The Scheme alignment has been carefully selected to avoid significant adverse effects on many historic buildings, areas of historic landscape and ancient monuments. However, we would not be able to avoid impacts altogether on the Fosse Way (the former Roman road) and an important (unscheduled) prehistoric flint scatter at Farndon.

The setting of some historic buildings would be altered, however, other historic buildings would benefit from reductions in heavy traffic particularly through the settlements of East Stoke and Farndon. The Scheme would introduce impacts on the West Lodge at Flintham Park, the listed buildings within Flintham Hall and Parkland, and the setting of Elston Towers but we would provide appropriate landscape planting to minimise the effect.

We would use extensive native planting and replacement hedgerows to integrate the road with the existing historic landscape field pattern. Lighting and overhead sign gantries have been avoided in order to preserve as far as possible the mostly rural character of the surrounding countryside.

The key archaeological site affected by the Scheme would be the Fosse Way. The road is generally straight and is assumed to indicate the broad alignment of the Roman Road, (although there are likely to have been deviations to the alignment over the centuries). There would be an impact on archaeological deposits associated with the Roman road, although key sections would be left in place to be used as local roads or bridleways. This would result in significant enhancements to the historic character of the road such as at East Stoke and at the scheduled monument at Ad Pontem. We have designed the road to avoid nationally important sites, such as the Roman town sites of Margidunum and Ad Pontem, and the Battlefield at East Stoke. The Scheme would avoid severe impacts on the most sensitive historic landscape character areas.

We would carry out detailed archaeological recording and excavation works in advance of and during the main construction works. These works would contribute significantly to local, regional and national research archives.

With mitigation the Scheme would have a moderate adverse effect upon the area’s cultural heritage resources.

Ecology and Nature Conservation

The Scheme would not affect any Statutory Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). It would however, directly affect ten Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). The SINCs represent relics of previously existing habitats within a now impoverished area of the county, although some have been degraded since designation.

The Scheme would directly affect areas of undesignated woodland and unimproved/semi-improved grassland, which, although assessed to be of lower ecological value, do hold some ecological interest within the area. A number of mature trees would also be directly affected by the Scheme, including 120 trees that are likely to be used by bats. This would affect a number of species including bats, invertebrates and birds. The Scheme would result in a loss of approximately 31km of hedgerow through landtake and severance.

Mitigation provided by the Scheme would replace the affected hedgerows with new ones, resulting in an overall gain of over 2.7km of hedgerow. We would provide new areas of woodland and scrub, improving the overall connectivity of habitat within the road corridor and increasing the area of semi natural habitat. We would relocate the most valuable hedgerows, which would further reduce the impact.

One pond supporting great crested newts would be lost. However, we would create a further 13 ponds and 5 ecology ditches. Badgers have a number of territories within the Scheme corridor and construction of the Scheme would cause the loss of areas of foraging habitat and three outlier setts. We plan to reduce the overall impact of this by providing semi-natural areas of vegetation as well as badger tunnels and fencing to reduce the potential mortality of badgers crossing the new road. Bats are known to forage and roost within the area. To reduce the impact on them we would provide bat boxes, create temporary flight lines during construction and also plant hedgerows and trees.

The Scheme would have little impact on other mammals, including deer, brown hare and water vole. The area supports a range of breeding and wintering birds the majority of which are common species. One species of note found breeding close to the proposed route is the Barn Owl, which is susceptible to road traffic mortality. Hard concrete reserves would reduce the impact on this species by removing vegetation from the central reserve and we would create semi-natural habitat foraging areas to discourage the owls from foraging close to the carriageway. Reptiles and amphibians would benefit overall from a net increase in ponds and waterbodies.

Overall the ecology and biodiversity impacts are considered to be of low significance in terms of nature conservation. With the provision of mitigation, the overall impact of the Scheme (15 years after construction) would be slight adverse, with this residual effect due to the loss of mature trees during construction.

Landscape and Visual Effects

For the majority of its route, the proposed road would follow the alignment of the existing A46 through a gently rolling and agricultural landscape, retaining existing vegetation where possible. The existing road crosses three Landscape Character Areas, as defined in Nottinghamshire County Council’s Countryside Appraisal document. These three distinct areas are characterised as an area of undulating Wolds between Widmerpool and Saxondale, the rolling farmlands between Margidunum and East Stoke and the flatter landscape of the Trent floodplain towards Newark.

We have undertaken an assessment of the landscape and visual impacts of the Scheme by identifying the impacts on both the character of the landscape through which the scheme crosses and the effects on residents, pedestrians, horse riders, employees in local businesses and users of recreational facilities. The assessment took into account the mitigation developed as part of the design process and features of the Scheme landscape design.

The overall objective of the landscape design is to integrate the Scheme into the landscape, whilst at the same time minimising the landscape and visual effects upon people and properties. The landscape design would not only replace landscape features lost to the Scheme, but increase the existing planting, to conserve, restore and diversify the landscape character areas in line with the objectives of the local plans and Nottinghamshire Landscape Guidelines.

We aim to keep existing vegetation where possible, and connect severed hedgerows with new ones or mass planting. We would integrate and screen junctions, structures and residential properties with planting, and we would use screening mounds at selected locations to screen properties where the road is on embankment. We have designed the earthworks to integrate the Scheme into the local landscape and our balancing ponds have been designed to look like natural features. We propose to source the plants used from the local area and will use native seeds from Nottinghamshire meadows for areas of open grassland adjacent to key ecological features. At roundabouts we would use high-pressure sodium lamps with high cut-off beams and flat-glass lanterns to contain light within the highway.

Overall the Scheme provides approximately 57 hectares (ha) of grassland, 33ha woodland and woodland edge planting, 73ha of linear belts of shrubs and trees and over 33km of native hedgerows and native hedgerows with trees.

We recognise that the Scheme would have a short term impact on views of two level junctions and associated overbridges until the mitigation planting becomes established and integrates the structures into the landscape. It is considered that overall the Scheme would have a slight adverse effect on the prevailing landscape.

Geology and Soils

The geology of the area is rich in mineral resources and there have been several geological deposits historically exploited along the Scheme including coal, gypsum and limestone.

There are no Geological Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINC) or Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS) within 300m of the proposed Scheme alignment.

Land along the Scheme alignment is mainly agricultural and soil surveys have indicated that it is of generally high quality, with the higher quality land occurring mainly to the north of Cotgrave.

During surveys we identified potential sources of ground contamination, through the consideration of current and former land uses and from the results of the ground investigation undertaken in late 2004. However the potential for contaminated land along the route is considered to be low and is unlikely to impact upon the Scheme construction or operation.

Some land would be required for the storage of topsoil taken during the construction phase. This would be restored for agricultural uses following the completion of the works. We would take particular care with the storage and reuse of topsoil and subsoil stripped from ecologically sensitive areas.

Land Use and Agriculture

On completion the Scheme would permanently occupy approximately 311ha – this would include the permanent loss of approximately 235ha of agricultural land. Of this agricultural landtake, approximately 164ha is defined as being the best and most versatile land for agricultural purposes. Land would temporarily be required for construction compounds, drainage works and general construction access, we estimate that approximately 54ha of agricultural land would be restored following construction.

A total of 47 land holdings would be affected by the Scheme. Of these, there would be a significant impact on four units, which would be mitigated through financial compensation.

We would demolish 4 disused residential properties and an indoor rifle range at Newton Gardens. These properties are on the former RAF station and have been unoccupied since the closure of the airbase. We would need to demolish Fosse Farm (private residential) and Glebe Cottages at Flintham (No. 1 Glebe Cottages is owned by the Highways Agency, whilst No. 2 Glebe Cottages is privately owned).

There would be a number of effects upon commercial land and land subject to potential future development (as covered by planning applications). This would not have a significant effect on future land development potential.

The Scheme would result in the loss of the eastern boundary of the Flintham cricket pitch (approximately 0.04ha). An equal area of land abutting the northern boundary of the cricket pitch would be provided as Exchange Land. An additional 0.13ha of land would be made available for use by the Scheme as public open space due to the conversion of the westbound part of Inholms Road to a private means of access. It is considered that this would result in a beneficial effect upon public open space in Flintham.

The design of the proposed canal underbridge at Stragglethorpe allows for the potential future restoration of the disused Grantham Canal.