Adjustment to Helmsdale pylon route as 400kV overhead line report is issued
Changes have been made to controversial plans for a 400kV overhead line linking Spittal, Loch Buidhe and Beauly – including adjustments to the pylon route passing Dunbeath and Helmsdale to help “minimise local impacts”.
Details are set out in a new “Report on Consultation” from SSEN Transmission, running to more than 90 pages, confirming the final overhead line route alignments to be brought forward for planning consent and development.
If approved, the project will involve about 167km of new pylons as well three new substations along its route – including Banniskirk Hub, which objectors have branded “completely unacceptable in a rural location”.
The average height of the towers will be 57 metres, with a maximum height of 65m. At a public meeting in Dunbeath last year, it was claimed that “Spittal to Beauly is just the beginning of the end for the Highlands”.
The changes, “in response to community and stakeholder feedback”, will be set out at public engagement events in February and March. These include meetings at Spittal Village Hall on Monday, March 3 (3pm-7pm), Helmsdale Community Centre on Tuesday, March 4 (3pm-7pm) and Dunbeath Community Centre on Wednesday, March 5 (3pm-7pm).
SSEN Transmission pointed to examples of changes to the overhead line route affecting communities in the Dunbeath and Helmsdale areas.
“In the section between Spittal and Brora, as the proposed new overhead line passes Dunbeath, the more inland of the two potential routes consulted on is being taken forward to reduce impacts on Dunbeath and surrounding settlements,” the company said.
“As the overhead line passes Helmsdale, SSEN Transmission is taking forward an inland option to reduce impacts on communities.”
It added: “In the area around Bonar Bridge west of Dornoch, SSEN Transmission is progressing the overhead line route presented in its previous consultation. In recognition of concerns about the potential impact of this route on the village of Culrain and Carbisdale Castle, it has sought to minimise impacts through micrositing of towers.”
The proposed transmission line is designed to support the energy security and clean power ambitions of the Scottish and UK governments.
The Report on Consultation follows three rounds of overhead line route consultations, as well as three rounds of consultation on potential substation locations.
SSEN Transmission said that throughout the consultation process “key sections of the overhead line route have been reviewed and changed to reflect community and stakeholder feedback, helping to minimise local impacts”.
The company will host a webinar on Tuesday, February 4, providing an overview on all three of the proposed 400kV overhead line projects, including the Spittal to Beauly route.
Senior development project manager Rebecca Gay said: “We have engaged extensively with local communities and stakeholders throughout the development of this project, and we would like to thank all those who have taken the time to provide the constructive feedback that has helped to shape our proposals.
“Our final Report on Consultation reflects the important role this engagement has played, resulting in changes to key sections of the overhead line route and various other plans to mitigate local concerns.
“Investing to upgrade our electricity transmission network is crucial if we are to achieve the country’s energy security and clean power objectives, and it’s also a major driver of jobs and economic activity locally and across the north of Scotland.
“In February and March we will be holding a further series of public engagement events where we will present our final alignment plans for the development of this critical national infrastructure.”
The proposed Spittal to Beauly 400kV project is one of a series of major onshore and offshore projects that SSEN Transmission is seeking to take forward through a £20bn-plus investment in upgrading the transmission network across the north of Scotland.
Known as the Pathway to 2030 programme, it will “create and support thousands of jobs in the region”, according to SSEN Transmission, while delivering an anticipated £100m-plus in community benefit funding for areas located close to new infrastructure.
The company has also said it will support the delivery of more than 1000 new homes in the region “as a legacy of its workforce accommodation requirements to construct the projects”.
