Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
settlements on areas of lowland. This is particularly evident where the Lowlands River Valleys,
along the River Carron and River Forth Estuary are relatively densely settled.
9.3.57 The major centre of population is the wider Falkirk area, which includes nearby towns such as
Grangemouth, Larbert and Stenhousemuir and interspersed with a great number of smaller
towns has a population of 97,180 making it the 5 th largest urban area in Scotland, after
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. The town lies at the junction of the Forth and
Clyde Canal and the Union Canal.
9.3.58 Stirling occupies a strategic gateway position at the point where the flatter although largely
undulating Scottish Lowlands meet the rugged slopes of the Highlands along the Highland
Boundary Fault. Stirling stands on the Forth at the point where the river widens and becomes
tidal.
9.3.59 On the Carse of Forth following the course of the River Forth run main transport rotes such as
the railway, the M9, the A9, the A905, the A84, the A873, the A811 following the course of the
River Forth from south east to north west across the study area. As identified above, the Carse
of Forth falls fully within the ZTV cover. The A9 changes its course beyond Stirling heading in a
north easterly direction to Strathallan and then emerges from the ZTV cover.
9.3.60 The A905 runs between Grangemouth and Stirling alongside the River Forth on its floodplain.
This route passes through small villages such as Airth and Fallin.
9.3.61 On the northern shore of the River Forth the A907 runs between Dunfermline and Stirling. This
route goes through small settlements such as Clackmannan and Alloa and Tullibody.
9.3.62 The A811 runs on the bottom of the River Forth valley. It begins on the A84 next to the fire
station and in the shadow of Stirling Castle (this is the slip road from the M9). After a new
roundabout, to meet with the B8051 Ring Road, it crosses over the M9, and heads in a
succession of long, straight lines for almost ten miles, interrupted only by a roundabout on the
B822. The section between the roundabout B822 and crossing with the B8075 falls within the
ZTV.
9.3.63 The A84 runs on the valley floor of the River Teith. It links the city of Stirling with
Lochearnhead, running for approximately 28 miles. It is within the ZTV cover in the section
where it crosses the River Forth to the north of Stirling and then heads to the north-west until it
splits to the A873. The A873 begins on the A84 8km west of Stirling and then heads to the
west where it ends at the A81, having some sporadic ZTV patches over its course.
9.3.64 The low lying landform of the study area has led to the evolution of an extensive network of
routes. There are numerous route corridors traversing the study area, many of which are
associated with urban development, while others provide access to the wider countryside.
While originally many of these routes evolved in response to the pattern of the landform, more
recent infrastructure developments have overridden this pattern.
9.3.65 What is remarkable about this extensive network of routes is that they are proportionally well
hidden by the surrounding vegetation and therefore the structures which indicate
industrialisation are well screened from viewers.
November 2010 Chapter 9 Page 35
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