Otters at Orchy Viaduct
Spotting otters while undertaking repair works to Orchy Viaduct on the West Highlands Line between Oban and Glasgow, our site team stopped work and sought advice from our ecological specialist A9 Consultants.
Undertaking further surveys, we ensured we were fully up to speed with the Species Protection Plan (SPP), complying with measures such as ‘no loud work 2 hours either side of sunrise and sunset’, the installation of visual and noise screening, and a restriction on security lighting, which can cause disturbance to otters.
Dedicated to protecting local communities, environments, and habitats, we proactively communicated the presence of otters and the controls to be established on site to minimise disturbance. This included the production of a presentation by General Foreman, Alan Davidson, which covers otters and the law, otter ecology, impacts of site work and the controls we need to maintain on site.
This is an excellent example of our workforce taking ownership of an issue - controlling site impacts so that we can minimise disturbance to this protected species.
