'Work with us': Community councils' plea to SSEN over 'super pylons'
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Five community councils in Sutherland have joined 14 others across the Highlands in a call for SSEN Transmission to work with them to find the best solution to upgrade the region’s national grid.
The move follows huge controversy over SSEN’s recently unveiled plans to run a new 400 kilovolt (kV) line of 57-metre high “super pylons” from Spittal in Caithness to Beauly.
The power company also intends to build massive new substations at Spittal, Loch Buidhe and Beauly.
Objectors have voiced concern over the impact on the environment of the proposals and have said that the public consultation has been inadequate and the time given to make representations too short.
Now a letter endorsed by 19 community councils along the planned pylon route has been sent to SSEN Transmission.
The letter has been signed by Ron McAulay, chairman of Strathpeffer Community Council with the support of Ardgay, Brora, Golspie, Helmsdale and Rogart community councils.
The other community councils involved are: Ardross; Beauly; Contin; Dingwall; Garve; Kilmorack; Kiltarlity; Kiltearn; Halkirk; Latheron, Lybster and Clyth; Marybank, Scatwell and Strathconon; Muir of Ord; Strathpeffer; and Watten.
Mr McAulay writes: “Each of these community councils understands the need to move to green sources of energy and realise that to do so, will involve strengthening or reinforcing the national grid. That is accepted.
“It is not the principle of reinforcing the grid that is in dispute. It is the method by which that will be achieved that is being challenged.”
He stated that “cost should not be the overriding criteria” and that greater consideration should have been given to utilising existing power line corridors, laying subsea cables and burying the cables below ground.
Mr McAulay slammed the current consultation process as “lacking any credibility” and stated that it had not adhered to SSEN’s own principles to “deliver stakeholder consultation”.
And he added that the community councils wanted to make SSEN “an offer”.
“The contributors to this letter are offering you the opportunity to form a forum of community councils through which options and issues could be discussed and addressed,” he stated.
“We firmly believe that SSEN should clearly set out the criteria used for assessing routes and the weighting given to each criteria.
“This remit should be revisited and the design process stopped and only restarted at such time as the views of the communities that are directly affected have been taken on board.”
