Environmental work prioritises moors as part of A59 rerouting scheme

Work to reroute a section of the A59 at Kex Gill between Skipton and Harrogate has been supported by detailed environmental assessments focusing on neighbouring moors and wildlife.

This section of the road has been regularly impacted by landslips in recent years, with 13 landslips reported since 2000 and most recently at New Year, resulting in the road currently being closed. The new road has been specifically designed to mitigate this issue.

Working with Sisk, RSK Environment and RSK Biocensus have delivered a series of environmental assessments focusing on local ecology, protected countryside and waterways. Using baseline information gathered for the environmental statement and pre-commencement surveys by project partner WSP, environmental mitigation has been implemented through species protection plans, ground-nesting bird online mapping and ecological clerk of works. These measures have ensured the proposed new road route will have minimal impact on wildlife populations and designated sites such as the North Pennines Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA) and West Nidderdale, Barden and Blubberhouses Moors Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

RSK Environment Associate Director Georgina King said: “The construction site for the new road goes through protected areas of countryside that is home to barn owls; ground-nesting birds, such as lapwing, oystercatcher and curlew; otters; slow worms; pipistrelle bats; and notable fish species, including brown trout and brook lamprey. These species and the surrounding habitat need to be protected through the course of the works and beyond. Ensuring that happens involves preparing assessments before the work has begun and to manage any potential environmental risk as work progresses to different stages of construction.”

RSK Biocensus was appointed by John Sisk and Son to produce species protection plans for badgers, birds, bats, reptiles and amphibians, river-dwelling mammals and aquatic species and a designated sites protection plan. RSK Biocensus Principal Ecological Consultant Lewis Wright said: “These documents were required as part of the planning application and used baseline ecology data gathered by WSP as part of the initial environmental statement. The species and designated sites protection plans secured measures to minimise impact and risk to wildlife and designated sites, which include, but are not limited to, the supervision of certain works by an ecological clerk of works, weekly client meetings with the ecology lead, pre-construction ecology surveys and nesting bird checks.

“Because of the location of the site, ensuring the construction does not breach legislation, such as by preventing disturbance to nesting birds, has been challenging. The site is used by many upland breeding bird species, such as oystercatcher, lapwing and curlew, that nest within awkward positions on the construction site. Appropriate supervision and nesting bird checks were undertaken and live digital mapping was used to ensure work proceeded without causing disturbance to these nests.”

Pre-commencement surveys also included targeted studies for bats and fish. Lewis said: “Tree inspection surveys for bats and bat dusk emergence surveys, as well as badger, otter and water vole surveys, were also carried out. Specialist aerial rescue trained climbers installed bat boxes, nesting bird boxes and barn owl boxes within and surrounding the site to provide shelter. Data from pre-construction surveys also revealed that several fish species were present in the watercourses, most notably brown trout and brook lamprey. Without any mitigation, the proposed instream works (river realignment and culvert installations) could have resulted in injury or harm to these fish and potential disturbance of spawning.”

In total, the work will result in the realignment of 900 linear metres of existing watercourses. These diversion works were required to accommodate the new alignment of the A59 and the temporary works.

Lewis said: “Impacts to fish were mitigated firstly by identifying and delaying works in known fish spawning areas. Then, prior to any works being completed in channel, pre-construction fish rescues and translocations were undertaken using electric fishing methods. In total, over 1000 fish were captured and translocated as part of the fish rescues in 2024 and included five different species. These were brook lamprey, brown trout, bullhead, perch and stone loach.”

Watercourse monitoring and silt mitigation have also been undertaken to protect the local environment around the works site.

Georgina said: “These further silt mitigation measures were supplemented by Frog Environmental, an RSK sister company, and have been vital to preventing potential sediments from the site reaching the watercourse. The risks associated with silt are managed on-site to mitigate any potential escape and to keep earthworks clear of the waterbodies. Communications across all teams working on the project is also vital to ensure everyone is working to best practice standards with regards to silt risk.”

Sisk Project Director Alistair Melville said: “The Kex Gill project is a challenging project with many environmental risks and requirements. RSK’s extensive range of services enabled us to approach the project in the most efficient manner. The teams demonstrated exceptional agility by working collaboratively, sharing information and adapting to additional scope, shifting schedules and delivery needs. As a result, we are successfully delivering a high-quality project in a highly sensitive location.”