Aberdeen bypass bosses slammed over ‘simplistic survey’

Ecologist hits out over impact on woodland

By David Ewen chief reporter

Published:

EVIDENCE: Carol Crawford, inset, spoke at the public inquiry into the bypass at the Treetops.

ABERDEEN bypass bosses were accused today of failing to fully understand the road’s impact.

Ecologist Carol Crawford told a public inquiry they had not properly surveyed how it would affect ancient woodland.

But Transport Scotland QC Aisla Wilson rejected the accusation – and said the proposed design met all “legal requirements”.

Ms Crawford, representing the Woodland Trust charity, told the inquiry: “The impact assessment has been carried out with a limited vegetation survey, simplistic systems of evaluation and impact assessment.

“Long-established and ancient woodlands have not been adequately assessed at any stage of the process.”

Ms Crawford, a principal ecologist at the Natural Resource Consultancy, said: “The areas I sampled, data has errors in habitat classification and mapping, inadequate and at times misleading recording and description of habitats, and habitats missed altogether.”

She claimed woodland at Craibstone and Kingcausie had been “undervalued”.

But under cross- examination from Ms Wilson, she agreed her own survey had not been as rigorous as that carried out by the bypass team.

Planting by trunk road agency Transport Scotland would almost double the amount of trees in the countryside around the city.

Its witness Simon Jacyna had told the inquiry the scheme “would result in an increase in the area of woodland, and that woodland would consist predominantly of native species”. He also warned that alternative routes “do not offer any improvement to the proposed scheme”.

Ms Crawford branded the mitigation measures as “optimistic”.

The “preferred” route for the 28-mile dual carriageway leaves the A90 at Stonehaven and at Charleston, meets at Maryculter, and rejoins the A90 at Blackdog north of the city.

A recommendation will eventually go to Scottish Ministers, who will take the final decision on where the road goes.

The inquiry, held at the Hilton Treetops Hotel, is expected to run until December.

dewen@ajl.co.uk