BCMESL completed or contributed
to various environmental impact assessments whilst involved with
pipeline construction projects, and subsequently has contributed
to other such assessments, (see also Castle
Stuart WeBS-based Wintering and Breeding Bird Surveys, Ornithological
Impact Assessment, and Ornithological and Environmental Management
Guidance and Advice).
More recently other such assessments have also formed part of the
BCMESL work-scope. For example, under the terms of The Environmental
Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006, landowners
/ occupiers wanting to implement schemes which involve the conversion
of semi-natural habitats to improved agriculture are required to
undertake an environmental impact assessment. As such, BCMESL was
asked to complete an EIA of a proposed conversion of a field, (locally
known as Raecleugh Bog), within the Flass Farm land-holding near
Westruther in the Borders which the land-owner wanted to convert
to improved grassland. The assessment involved consultation with
the Scottish Government Rural Payment and Inspections Directorate,
(SGRPID), throughout the process, after initially asking them to
obtain a screening opinion about the proposed scheme from other
statutory bodies. Subsequently, BCMESL carried out an ornithological
survey and organised a botanical survey, and also obtained pertinent
details about the site and its context from the Scottish Borders
Biological Records Centre, before a detailed impact assessment pertaining
to the scheme was submitted to SGRPID.
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