EHG6307 - DBA and site visit - proposed, Battery Storage facility, Spittal Quarry

An archaeological desk-based assessment and site visit were undertaken by AB Heritage in 2024 to support the proposed construction of a 49.9MW battery storage facility at Spittal Quarry, Spittal, Caithness. The proposal site lay within the boundaries of The Caithness Flagstone Ltd quarry. The site would comprise 20 battery units set on a raised bed of gravel / crushed stones and would be served by an on-site substation. he known archaeological resource demonstrated that the wider Caithness area had been occupied since the Mesolithic period onwards, with substantial evidence for Prehistoric activity and settlement, largely in the form of cairns and brochs. Occupation continued through into the Medieval period, with a chapel, hospital and burial ground dedicated to St Magnus set on the path of two pilgrimage routes, being constructed. During more recent centuries, the site itself appeared to have remained as open land, until the early C20th. A small quarry was opened by 1906 and was greatly expanded in the late C20th and early C21st. The site remained as an active flagstone quarry as its most recent use and had been completely stripped down to the bedrock. It appeared that spoil, stripped from the site in the past to reach the flagstone rock seams, has been banked up around the perimeter of the site to create a substantial bund. Based on readily available evidence, it was concluded there was no potential for the recovery of complex and / or significant archaeological remains within the limits of proposed development dating to any period. In addition, due to the bund surrounding the site, along with intervening vegetation and local topography, there would be no potential for indirect setting impacts on any heritage asset within the wider area. As a consequence, it was considerde that the site had no potential for the recovery of remains which would contribute to research questions Qu 5.11 and Qu 5.41 in the Highlands Archaeological Research Framework Agenda. Consequently, no recommendations for further work in terms of archaeology were made though confirmation of this would be subject to the approval of the Local Planning Authority. It was therefore considered that the proposed development met the requirements of National Policy and both the Highland-wide Local Development Plan and Highland Council Supplementary Guidance in relation to the Historic Environment (see Section 3.3). <1>