Item 5 Appendix 2 HRA 20250229DET Shed Revack

This document contains a Habitats Regulations Appraisal for a retrospective planning application (2025/0229/DET) to erect an agricultural shed on Revack Estate, Grantown on Spey, in the Cairngorms National Park. The development already happened and involved removing approximately 0.33 hectares of ancient woodland without a felling licence, plus further woodland clearance and track upgrades. This appraisal assessed the project’s potential effects on local protected sites, specifically the River Spey Special Area of Conservation (SAC), and the Craigmore Woods and Anagach Woods Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which are important for capercaillie. While the River Spey SAC was found to have no likely significant effects, the appraisal focused on the impact to capercaillie in the SPAs due to habitat loss and increased human activity. However, after careful review, it was concluded that despite the permanent loss of some ancient woodland and a possible slight increase in human presence, the development is unlikely to significantly harm the capercaillie populations or the integrity of these SPAs. This is largely because the amount of lost habitat is small (about 0.25% of suitable capercaillie habitat in the wider area), and the development is located near existing buildings where some human activity already occurs. Therefore, no specific mitigation is considered necessary for recreational disturbance to capercaillie, though compensatory planting is expected for the ancient woodland removed, as its clearance doesn't align with Scottish Government or Cairngorms National Park Authority policies.