Millport Harbour Revision Order - Screening report - 17 January 2022

Introduction

1. Thank you for your email of 29 June 2021 indicating that a harbour revision order (HRO) may be sought under the Harbours Act 1964 (the 1964 Act) on behalf of Millport Harbour Authority regarding the planned construction of the Millport Coastal Flood Protection Scheme, located in Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae in North Ayrshire.

Harbours Act 1964

2. Where Scottish Ministers are notified of a proposed HRO which authorises a project they are required in terms of paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the 1964 Act to decide:

• Whether that application relates to a project which falls within Annex I or Annex II to Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (as amended by Council Directives 97/11/EC and 2003/35/EC) (the Directive); and
• If it relates to a project which falls within Annex II, whether taking into account the selection criteria, the project is a relevant project.

3. Ministers are also required to decide whether the project is likely to have a significant affect on a European site and if so whether an appropriate assessment is required in terms of regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats & Etc) Regulation 1994.

4. Scottish Ministers have considered the characteristics of the project (as described and shown on the draft submitted plans and drawings) and have concluded that:

• The application falls within paragraph 10(e) of Annex II to Council Directive 85/337/EEC, as the application relates to the construction of a port installation; and,
• That it is not a relevant project in terms of Schedule 3 to the 1964 Act.

5. Accordingly, an Environmental Statement is not required in terms of the 1964 Act.

Scoping

6. The applicants have requested a scoping opinion under the Harbours Act 1964. This letter comprises the requested scoping opinion. This scoping opinion is provided on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

7. Scottish Ministers have consulted with the relevant environmental bodies about the extent of the information the applicant should supply. The applicant is asked to take into account the views provided by NatureScot, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and North Ayrshire Council outlined in Annex A.

Conclusion

9. We trust that you will be able to address any further matters before submitting your formal HRO. It would of course be open to the consulting bodies to object to this application for consent if they still have concerns when the application is presented.
10. I hope this is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss any aspect of this letter or the application process.

Annex A

NatureScot

Background

Transport Scotland has received notification from Royal Haskoning DHV Ltd, acting on behalf of North Ayrshire Council, regarding the above application that is required as part of the consented Millport Coastal Flood Protection Scheme. It is intended that the proposed works will be authorised by a Harbour Revision Order under Section 14 of the Harbours Act 1964 and Marine Licence under Part IV of The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

We understand that this latest consultation stage provides statutory consultees with an opportunity to provide further comment in addition to those made following the initial EIA consultation for this project, carried out by NAC in January 2020, and to which we responded on the 31 March 2020.

Summary

In terms of our interests, the project is likely to give rise to significant environmental effects and as such we consider this qualifies as an EIA project. We do not consider an additional EIA is required given that the extant EIA produced in January 2020 is to be updated by a Supplementary EIA Report and both used to accompany a forthcoming Marine Licence application for the project.

There are no natural heritage interests of European importance close to the site. An appropriate assessment is therefore not required. We have the following advice on this scheme.

Appraisal of the impacts and advice

Requirement for an EIA

Our advice is that this project qualifies as a schedule 2 Infrastructure project. We consider that the works are likely to give rise to significant environmental effects. We would expect an EIA Report to be produced to detail what the significant environmental effects from the project are likely to be. More importantly, where these are likely to be negative, what mitigation measures are proposed and what are the likely residual effects following mitigation.

Our advice is that the existing EIA, soon to be updated by the forthcoming Supplementary EIA Report, should be sufficient to address the significant environmental effects of this project and provide the required level of detail without the need for a new EIA process.

Internationally important areas for nature conservation

Special Protection Areas (SPA)

The proposed development is approximately 9.5km from the Renfrewshire Heights SPA classified for its breeding population of Hen Harriers and 17.5km to the east of the Arran Moors SPA, also classified for its breeding population of Hen Harriers.

The status of these sites means that the requirements of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 as amended (the “Habitats Regulations”) apply or, for reserved matters, The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Consequently, Transport Scotland is required to consider the effect of the proposal on the SPAs before it can be consented (commonly known as Habitats Regulations Appraisal). The NatureScot website has a summary of the legislative requirements.

To help you to do this we advise that given the separation distance between the development site and these SPAs and the type of habitats in the application area we consider that the proposal will not have a likely significant effect on the qualifying interests of Renfrewshire Heights SPA and Arran Moors SPA either directly or indirectly. An appropriate assessment is therefore not required.

This advice is provided by NatureScot, the operating name of Scottish Natural Heritage.

North Ayrshire Council

Thank you for your request for views on the screening and scoping report for the Millport flood protection scheme. I can confirm that from a planning service perspective, we have no comments to make. I note that the built heritage of the town is highlighted and that Planning has been consulted on the proposal previously which is welcomed.

Please note this is an officer response.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have previously provided advice on the project including following consultation under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 in February 2020. This included an Environmental Impact Assessment (reported in the Environmental Statement dated 31 January 2020). As reported in the Note / Memo from Royal Haskoning DHV (dated 21 July 2021) SEPA had no objection to the project subject to a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and Invasive Species and Biosecurity Management Plan by planning condition.

As such, we do not require any further information through the Harbour Revision Order or Marine Licence processes in relation to issues in our remit. We therefore have no comments regarding EIA Screening / Scoping for the Harbour Revision Order.