Site Event/Activity record EHG4163 - Desk-based assessment - River Ness Flood Prevention Scheme, Inverness

A desk-based assessment of the archaeological potential and possible impacts of a proposed flood alleviation scheme along the banks of the River Ness was produced by Mott Macdonald for the Highland Council in 2012. The desk-based assessment would assist in interpreting the results of the archaeological watching brief, which was to be undertaken concurrently with the proposed works. The scheme proposes the construction of flood defences along the banks of the River Ness, originating at Island Bank Road and terminating at the Harbour on the eastern bank, and originating at Bishop’s Road and terminating at Kessock Road on the western bank. The works lie within the Riverside Conservation. For the majority of the route, the works comprise the removal of existing railings, and their replacement with a steel based, concrete wall, c1m in height. In some places however, the scheme was envisaged to tie in with, and potentially extend, extant earthworks at the northern extents of the town, particularly at the Longman and Kessock Quayside areas. In the city centre, upgrade works associated with the renewal and relocation of existing services would be conducted along Bank Street and up Bank Lane and Fraser Street and from Friars Lane, forming a circuit around Friar’s Street and Douglas Row. The scheme also proposed the construction of two new pumping stations, to be located on the corner of Douglas Row and Friar’s Lane, and on an area of green field off Huntly Street, opposite the Waterfront Restaurant. <1>