Site Survey of former Nairn quarry complete

The Highland Council received the final report from their specialist contractors on the environmental conditions at the former Kingsteps quarry in Nairn this week and the site has been demonstrated as suitable for use as an amenity space.

The former sand and gravel quarry was used as an unregulated local dump and has been informally adopted by locals for dog walking and countryside amenity.

The report completes the Councils investigation into potential chemical contamination at the site, and no public access restrictions are required for low impact activities such as walking.

Due to the presence of asbestos at a depth of 0.5m in one sample out of the 92 collected, appropriate health and safety measures will be a requirement for all future maintenance or ground work at the site.

Staff in the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Service and the Council’s Contaminated Land Unit wish to thank the public for their co-operation during the initial radiological survey and the intrusive site works which consisted of 38 trial pits, 8 hand pits and 6 boreholes for the collection of soil and groundwater samples.

The Council’s Development and Infrastructure Service will now initiate discussions with the Nairn community to identify aspirations for site improvements, particularly in relation to upgrading the path network.

Speaking on behalf of the Nairn Ward, Provost Laurie Fraser said: “This is a good news story for Nairn and in particular the residents of Lochloy who make use of the old quarry. It will allow us, and the community, to forge ahead with landscape and footpath improvements for the area. Hopefully in a few years we will see more use of the land ,but, bearing in mind that it is still a haven for a number of wildlife animals and this we would want to encourage.”