Project Details

Description

BEAR Scotland has been commissioned by Transport Scotland to carry out tree felling along the A835, located south of Garve (Figure 1). The works will involve removal of unstable, diseased, self-sown or otherwise defective trees within falling distance of the A835. A total of 40 trees within falling distance of the road are located on land owned by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and were identified through a hazardous tree survey carried out by FLS. These trees will be removed by BEAR Scotland on behalf of FLS. The Garve railway station hedge will be reduced to 5m in height, and around 90m of hedge at the railway crossing will be removed as it is conflicting with Network Rail infrastructure. Network Rail and Transport Scotland support reduction and partial removal of the hedge on safety grounds. Transport Scotland trees have also been highlighted for removal after a road traffic accident involving a fallen tree on the A835. Approximately 500 to 600 trees will be felled in total. The scheme extends for approximately 2.5km, covering a total area of 1.6ha.

The works are currently programmed to be completed in winter 2025/2026 over two to three weeks by utilising a mix of daytime and night-time working hours. The construction start date is currently programmed for 01/12/2025 however this is still to be confirmed and changes in the programme may result in a change to the proposed working hours/ planned delivery of the works.

Traffic management (TM) will consist of a mixture of overnight road closures and daytime working. The exact method of TM is still to be confirmed.

Location

The scheme is located on the A835 trunk road, starting in Garve and ending approximately 1.8km northwest of Tarvie, within the Highland Council local authority area (Grid references: NH 40659 59411 to NH 39478 61400) (Figure 1).