New bridge plan at Kishorn Base by major salmon farming company
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A salmon farming company is seeking permission to replace a small road bridge at Kishorn in the interests of health and safety.
Engineering consultants Hydroplan are agents for Bakkafrost Scotland Ltd in its application for planning permission to Highland Council.
The existing bridge over the Russel Burn at the Kishorn Base, will be removed following construction of the replacement 10 metres upstream.
Bakkafrost Scotland is a leading producer of Scottish salmon operating over 60 sites across the West Coast and Hebrides including a hatchery within the yard area at Kishorn.
Hydroplan’s design statement says the reason for replacement is the unknown weight rating of the existing bridge and concerns around health and safety.
While the site is under the designation of the Wester Ross National Scenic Area (NSA), it is also within the semi-industrialised commercial “business district” of the Kishorn yard say Hydroplan.
The reports adds: “To the NW is the spectacular mountain scenery of the NSA, while to the SE is hard landscaping, concrete laydown areas and business infrastructure.
“The industrial setting discourages wildlife diversity – however the corridor of the Russel Burn may offer connectivity between hillside and sea for a number of species, including otter.
“A number of single and isolated trees are distributed around the yard in the vicinity of the bridge, as well as occasional gorse scrub on the undisturbed river bank.”
The chosen position immediately upstream enables minimal track realignment and the river channel width here is acceptably narrow, while still allowing predicted flood flows to pass under the bridge deck.
The new bridge has been designed to have a slightly longer span, and higher deck level (by some 360mm), to improve flood safety.
The new bridge will have a slightly wider deck and will be a prefabricated steel truss design as opposed to the existing concrete bridge.
Hydroplan say: “Following the construction of the new bridge the old structure will be decommissioned. The concrete deck will be removed and the masonry block abutments will be dismantled. Currently these abutments form an unnatural narrowing of the river channel which is a flood risk, so the banks on both sides of the river will be returned to a wider profile to allow greater water flow at flood peaks.
“The banks will be reinstated using the masonry blocks as armour against erosion.”
During the estimated at 6-8 week work time, it is expected that there will be negligible increase in noise and only a very minor increase in local traffic. Potential disturbance to wildlife is likely to be minimal – however a pre-construction nesting bird check and otter survey by a qualified ecologist will take place.
The report ends: “Overall, there is expected to be negligible impact on landscape and visual amenity as the bridge site is within a semi-industrial business site with numerous buildings and associated infrastructure in the near vicinity, and the design of the new bridge differs only marginally from the existing one.”
