EHG6391 - DBA and walkover survey - proposed battery energy storage system (BESS), Rigifa, Caithness

An archaeological desk-based assessment, setting assessment and walkover survey were undertaken by Royal HaskoningDHV in 2024 in relation to the construction and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on land located to the south of the planned and consented Gills Bay Substation in Rigifa, approximately 17 km east of Thurso, Caithness. The purpose of the work was to provide an understanding of the potential effects of the proposed development with regard to cultural heritage. The proposed development principally comprised a BESS with a capacity of up to 200 MW which would charge and discharge electricity from the adjacent planned and consented Gills Bay substation. The development area comprised the BESS compound, substation compound, interface substation and underground cabling proposed in a strip of arable field c. 10 ha in size, in addition to an interface substation, cable route and internal access track. An archaeological watching brief undertaken during the excavation of 28 test pits across the Development Area (see EHG6275) did not identify any deposits of archaeological or geoarchaeological interest. The site visit was carried out on 21st February 2024 to determine the topography and existing land use, the nature of the existing visible heritage assets (e.g. structures or earthworks) and assess factors which may have affected the survival or condition of any known or potential heritage assets. The visit extended beyond the development area boundary for the purposes of scoping designated heritage assets and their intervisibility with the proposed development for the settings assessment. It was assessed that the proposed development would have a negligible impact on the setting of the Listed Castle of Mey, as the key elements of its setting, principally its aesthetic value, its relation to northward views out to sea, and the sense of remoteness experienced in views to the south from the ground level and first floor of the castle, would be retained. It was considered that there was a low to moderate potential for previously unrecorded heritage assets to be present buried beneath the surface. A programme of archaeological monitoring secured via a suitably worded condition attached to any planning permission would be appropriate to mitigate impacts to surviving below ground archaeological remains. <1>