Description of local environment

Air quality

For properties within 300m of the scheme refer to “Population and Human Health”.

Air quality monitoring sites in the wider area record bandings in the ‘green zone’ (Low Index 1-3).

The scheme extents are located within the West Lothian Council, which has no active and three revoked Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within its administrative boundary. The nearest active AQMA, ‘Glasgow Road 2013’ within the Edinburgh City Council boundary, lies approx. 12.7km northeast of the scheme and has been declared for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

There are 12 sites registered on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) for air pollutant releases which lie within 10km of the scheme:

  • Shin-Etsu Handotai, Wilson Road, Livingston - Chemical industry – declared for ammonia (t), located approx. 2.2km southeast from the scheme.
  • Stepend Poultry Farm, West Calder, West Lothian - Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia (t), located approx. 3.2km southeast from the scheme.
  • API Foils, Houstoun Industrial Estate, Livingston - Other activities – declared for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (t) and toluene (kg), located approx. 5km northeast from the scheme.
  • Wyman Gordon Limited, Livingston - Production and processing of metals – declared for carbon dioxide (kt) and trichloroethylene (t), located approx. 5km northeast from the scheme.
  • Rusha Poultry Farm, West Calder - Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia (t), located approx. 5.7km southwest from the scheme.
  • Beeches Poultry Farm, Longridge, Bathgate - Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia (t), located approx. 6km south from the scheme.
  • Caradale Bricks, Etna Works, Armadale - Mineral industry – declared for fluorine and total inorganic fluorine compounds, such as hydrogen fluoride (HF) (t), located approx. 5.1km west from the scheme.
  • Bathgate Compressor Station, Avonbridge, Falkirk - Energy sector – declared for carbon dioxide (kt), methane (t), located approx. 7km northwest from the scheme.
  • Bathgate Compressor Station (Site 2) - Energy sector – declared for carbon dioxide (t), methane (t) and NMVOCs, located approx. 7km northwest from the scheme.
  • Clapperton Poultry Complex, Broxburn, West Lothian - Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia (t), particulate matter – PM10 and smaller (t), and particulate matter - total (t), located approx. 8km east from the scheme.
  • VION Food Scotland Limited, Broxburn - Animal and vegetable products from the food and beverage sector – declared for carbon dioxide (kt), located approx. 9km northeast from the scheme.
  • Raw Camps Poultry Farm, Kirknewton, West Lothian - Intensive livestock production and aquaculture – declared for ammonia (t), located approx. 9.5km east from the scheme.

Baseline air quality within the scheme extents is likely to be primarily influenced by traffic along the M8 carriageway. Secondary sources are most commonly derived from motor vehicles travelling along local network roads and day-to-day agricultural land management activities.

The Glasgow to Edinburgh railway is spanned by the motorway within the scheme extents. Therefore, train movements will also have an impact.

Cultural heritage

The PastMap and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) online mapping tools record no designated cultural heritage assets within 300m of the scheme.

Of lesser cultural heritage value, four undesignated cultural heritage assets (UCHAs) lie within 300m of the scheme. Two UCHAs lie within 15m of the trunk road scheme extents and pertain to:

  • Starlaw, Historic Environment Record (HER) - Classification: Buildings; Enclosure, located approx. 10m south of the scheme extents.
  • Starlaw, Canmore - Classification: Building(S) (Period Unassigned), Enclosure (Period Unassigned), located approx. 15m south of the scheme extents.

There is no connectivity between the scheme and the remaining UCHAs e.g., the nearest lies approx. 20m west of the scheme.

Construction of the M8 is likely to have removed any archaeological remains that may have been present within the trunk road boundary. The potential for the presence of unknown archaeological remains in the study area has therefore been assessed to be low.

Factor has no constraints that are likely to be impacted by the proposed works, given that the works will be restricted to the existing M8 carriageway. As such cultural heritage has been scoped out of further environmental assessment.

Landscape and visual effects

The scheme is not situated within a National Park (NP) or National Scenic Area (NSA).

The scheme lies within the ‘Lowland Plateaux - Lothians’ Landscape Character Type (no. 273) (Scottish Landscape Character Types). The key characteristics of this LCT are:

  • Broadly undulating and open plateau landform, becoming more rolling to the south and east to form a series of craggy hills above Blackridge.
  • The principal rivers form shallow valleys, with more deeply incised tributaries.
  • A pastoral landscape with post and wire fences, thin hedges and windswept shelterbelts.
  • Important wetland habitats and lowland peat bogs.
  • Scattered woodland consisting of small areas of coniferous, deciduous and mixed species.
  • Evidence of historical mining activity, leaving highly visible traces in the red shale bings.
  • Widespread residential and commercial development, as well as major transport corridors.
  • A landscape with extensive presence of modern human development and infrastructure.

Land use within 300m of the scheme is categorised into the following:

  • Motorway and Major Roads.
  • Rough Grazing.
  • Rectilinear Fields and Farms.
  • Plantation.
  • Recreation Area.
  • Industrial or Commercial Area.
  • Urban Area.

The national scale land capability for agriculture classifies land surrounding the scheme as being:

  • ‘Class 3.1’ – land capable of producing consistently high yields of a narrow range of crops and/ or moderate yields of a wider range. Short grass leys are common. 

Woodland in the study area comprised of:

  • Approx. 3.7ha of mixed mainly conifer woodland, which borders the southbound carriageway within the scheme extents.
  • Approx. 4.5ha of young tree woodland, which borders the northbound carriageway north of the scheme extents, 1.4ha of which is registered on the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland (NWSS).
  • Approx. 3.7ha of broadleaved woodland, lies southwest of the scheme extents.
  • Approx 1.2ha of shrub and young tree woodland which is registered on the NWSS, located approx. 200m east of the scheme.
  • Approx 6.5ha of young tree woodland registered on the NWSS, located approx. 160m northwest of the scheme extents (at the nearest point).
  • Additionally, approx. 21ha of mixed mainly conifer woodland, located approx. 240m east of the scheme extents.

There are no areas of woodland on the Ancient Woodland Inventory Scotland (AWIS) and no trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) within 300m of the scheme extents.

The existing trunk road is a prominent linear landscape feature. The trunk road corridor, for example, has a distinct character shaped by fast-flowing traffic, road markings, safety barriers, signage, landscaping, etc. The scale of the trunk road detracts from the quality and character of the wider landscape.

Biodiversity

The NatureScot Sitelink online mapping tools identifies that there are no European Sites designated for nature conservation i.e. Special Protection Areas (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), or Ramsar Sites, located within 2km of, or which share connectivity with the scheme extents.

Tailend Moss Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (EU Site Code: 135258) borders the westbound carriageway within the scheme extents.

Tailend Moss Local Nature Conservation Site (LNCS) borders the southbound carriageway within the scheme extents.

There are no Local Nature Reserves (LNR) designated for biodiversity features within 300m of the scheme extents. While not designated as an LNR, Tailend Moss is a Scottish Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve and is noted as being important for birds, peatland plants, damselflies and dragonflies.

In addition, NBN atlas holds records of numerous bird species within 2km over a ten-year period. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), all wild birds and their active nests (typically active March to August inclusive) are protected. Only records with open-use attributions (OGL, CC0, CC-BY) were included in the search criteria.

A search of the NBN online mapping tool records the following plant species as listed within the Network Management Contract (NMC) within 2km of the scheme extents (within the last 10-years):

Two invasive non-native species (INNS):

  • Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).
  • Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera).

Four injurious weeds:

  • Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea).
  • Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense).
  • Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare).
  • Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius).

One invasive native perennial:

  • Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium).

The closest record pertains to spear thistle, common ragwort and creeping thistle, located approx. 0.5km east of the scheme extents (2016).

A search of the Asset Performance Management System (AMPS) records the following plant species (as listed in the NMC) within and in proximity to the scheme extents:

One invasive injurious weed:

  • Spear thistle (2018) located along the eastbound verge approx. 15m north, out with the scheme extents.

One invasive native perennial:

  • Rosebay willowherb (2015, 2018) located along the westbound verge within the scheme extents.

Habitat immediately bordering the trunk road tends to be of low intrinsic value because the existing road verge is subject to cyclic maintenance e.g., grass cutting, weed control, tree, and shrub cut-back etc. The roadside verges therefore comprise a homogenous species-poor semi-improved grassland alongside broadleaved tree and shrub shelterbelt. Roadside vegetation generally offers low ecological habitat value due to its limited scale, fragmented nature and high potential for disturbance owing to cyclic trunk road landscape maintenance, and the proximity of the trunk road (with its fast-flowing traffic). The presence of the trunk road also restricts continuity of, and connectivity between, habitats either side of the trunk road boundary.

Outwith the trunk road boundary, the surrounding area consists of a mixture of agricultural land with pockets of woodland and Tailend Moss SSSI. Woodland bordering the agricultural fields and along the railway corridor could offer suitable habitats to a number of wildlife, with the Tailend Moss SSSI to the south also supporting a number of species. However, the result of abundance of surrounding intensive agricultural land management is to restrict the occurrence of these semi-natural and natural vegetation types. Most field boundaries are post-and -wire fencing, with vegetative features further delineating field boundaries e.g., shrub hedgerow, rough grassland, ruderal herb stands, scrub and tree shelterbelt. Linear features at field boundaries such as the woodland habitats have wildlife value, both as corridors in an intensively managed landscape, and as habitats for birds and small animals.

Geology and soils

Tailend Moss Local Geodiversity Sites (LGS) borders the westbound carriageway within the scheme extents. The importance of this site is reflected in the fact that it is both a Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserve and a SSSI and is one of the few remaining raised peat bogs in West Lothian.

The M8 within the scheme extents is not located within a Geological Conservation Review Site (GCRS). 

The National Soil Map of Scotland online mapping tool records that the Generalised Soil Type and Major Soil Group within the study area is Alluvial soils and Brown soils.

The British Geological Survey online mapping tool records that the superficial geology underlying the scheme extents is comprised of:

  • Peat (peat).
  • Superficial Deposits (sediment).
  • Glaciofluvial Ice Contact Deposits (gravel, sand and silt).
  • Alluvium (clay, silt, sand and gravel).
  • Till, Devensian (diamicton).

The bedrock geology underlying the scheme extents is comprised of:

  • Hopetoun Member (sedimentary rock cycles, Strathclyde group type).
  • Midland Valley Sill-Complex (quartz-microgabbro).

There is no evidence of historical industrial processes or the storage of hazardous materials that could have given rise to significant land contamination.

Material assets and waste

The proposed works are required to resurface the worn carriageway and reinstate road markings. Materials used will consist of:

  • TS2010 10mm Surface Course Site Class 1/2,
  • EME2 14mm,
  • AC20 dense binder,
  • AC32 Base Material Tack/Bond coat,
  • Paving Grade Bitumen,
  • Crack sealing,
  • Thermoplastic road markings, and
  • Embedded and surface mounted road studs.

As the value of the scheme is greater than £350,000, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is required for these works.

The scheme involves removal of the surface course and localised areas of base and binder course. Approx. 2,221 tonnes of bituminous material (European Waste Catalogue Code: 17 03 02) will be removed from site, approx. 760 tonnes of which is classified as hazardous material containing coal tar.

Noise and vibration

Receptors – refer to ‘Population and Human Health’.

Works are not located within a Candidate Noise Management Area (CNMA) or Candidate Quiet Areas (CQA).

The night-time modelled noise level (Lngt), within the scheme extents, ranges between 70 and 75 decibels, with levels dropping to between 50 and 55 decibels at the nearest NSR (residential property) (Scotland’s Noise Scotland’s Environment).

Baseline noise levels are mainly influenced by vehicles travelling along the trunk road. Secondary sources are likely derived from vehicles travelling along the local road network and day-to-day agricultural land management activities.

The Glasgow to Edinburgh railway is spanned by the motorway within the scheme extents. Therefore, train movements will also have an impact.

Population and human health

Six properties lie within 300m of the scheme including business and residential properties. The closest properties relate to a business premises located approx. 50m southeast of the scheme, which receives very limited screening from a hedgerow bordering the M8 at this location. The nearest residential property is located 140m north of the motorway and receives partial screening from the topography of the intervening field and roadside shelterbelt. Of note a Premier Inn Hotel is located approx. 280m northwest of the scheme and is screened by woodland (approx. 200m wide).

The remaining receptors receive good screening provided by a combination of roadside tree shelterbelt, woodland, raised roadside embankment, topography, and distance from the scheme.

There are no non-motorised user (NMU) or community facilities with connectivity to the scheme.

Street lighting is absent throughout the scheme.

The M8, within the scheme extents, is a two-lane motorway with continuous hard shoulder and national speed limit applying throughout. The Annual Average Daily Flow (AADT) is high (69,241 motor vehicles (ID: 80499, 2023 data)) (Road Traffic Statistics) and is comprised of:

  • 170 two-wheeled motor vehicles,
  • 47,911 cars and taxis,
  • 385 bus and coaches,
  • 14,945 Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs), and
  • 5,830 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs).

There are no congestion issues noted on the M8 within the scheme extents during the proposed working hours.

Road drainage and the water environment

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) River Basin Management Plan online mapping tool records there are no classified surface waterbodies within 300m of the scheme extents.

Ten small minor unclassified surface waterbodies, considered to be drainage channels, small watercourses or ponds lie within 300m of the scheme extents. Details are as follows:

  • Drain1 – is culverted beneath the motorway within the scheme extents and flows into Pond1 located approx. 25m north of the scheme. The culvert of Drain1 extents approx. 3m either side of the carriageway and is separated by a kerbline grass verge.
  • Pond1 – is located approx. 25m north of the scheme.
  • Drain2 - lies approx. 35m north of the scheme extents.
  • Drain3 – lies approx. 45m north of the scheme extents (at the nearest point) and is culverted beneath the motorway 220m west of the scheme.
  • Pond2 – is located approx. 80m south of the scheme extents.
  • Bog Burn – is located approx. 90m north of the scheme extents (at the nearest point).
  • Drain4 – is located approx. 110m south of the scheme.
  • Drain5 – is located approx. 130m south of the scheme and flows into Pond2.
  • Pond3 – is located approx. 220m northeast of the scheme extents.
  • Pond4 – is located approx. 270m north of the scheme extents.

All the waterbodies are too small (in terms of catchment area) to be classified as a main stem waterbody by SEPA under the WFD.

A search of the SEPA Flood Map online mapping tool shows that an approx. 250m stretch of the motorway within the southern scheme extents is at a high to medium risk of surface water flooding (e.g., each year this area has a 0.5% - 10% chance of flooding).

A search of the Scotland’s Environment (SE) online mapping tool determined that the trunk road, within the scheme extents, lies on the ‘Livingston’ groundwater, which has been classified as ‘Poor’.

A search of the SE online mapping tool determined that the trunk road, within the scheme extents, does not lie within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).

Climate

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out the target and vision set by the Scottish Government for tackling and responding to climate change (Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009). The Act includes a target of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% before 2050 (from the baseline year 1990). The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 amended the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to bring the target of reaching net-zero emissions in Scotland forward to 2045 (Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019).

The Scottish Government has since published its indicative Nationally Determined Contribution (iNDC) to set out how it will reach net-zero emissions by 2045, working to reduce emissions of all major greenhouse gases by at least 75% by 2030 (Scotland's contribution to the Paris Agreement: indicative Nationally Determined Contribution). By 2040, the Scottish Government is committed to reducing emissions by 90%, with the aim of reaching net-zero by 2045 at the latest.

Transport Scotland is committed to reducing carbon across Scotland’s transport network and this commitment is being enacted through the Mission Zero for Transport (Mission Zero for transport | Transport Scotland). Transport is the largest contributor to harmful climate emissions in Scotland. In response to the climate emergency, Transport Scotland are committed to reducing their emissions by 75% by 2030 and to a legally binding target of net-zero by 2045.