Council seeks clarification on Beauly to Denny power line decision

At today’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee members acknowledged the decision of the Scottish Government on the Beauly to Denny power line but expressed concern that the Council’s aspirations for the undergrounding and re-routing of the line in certain locations had not been taken up by the Government.  Officers have been asked to approach the Scottish Government and Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission Limited for clarification on a number of inconsistencies in the requirements of the consent and for discussions on the constitution and operation of the various liaison groups. It was also agreed to liaise with other local authorities, the national park and SNH to agree a consistent approach to the discussions.

The Committee concluded that it must give full commitment to fully support these liaison groups in conjunction with the affected relevant Highland communities and to maximise mitigation measures thereby minimising the intrusion of the line on communities, environment and habitats.

Chairman of the Committee, Councillor Ian Ross said:  “The council needs to explore the apparent inconsistencies in the consent for the overhead line.  For example there is a 100m stand-off zone from any property in the Perth and Kinross area but this does not apply in Highland.  Other critical conditions only relate to some stretches of the line, for example the treatment of road improvements varies.  I look forward to discussing these issues with the other affected local authorities prior to approaching the Scottish Government to seek reassurances on these matters.

We will off course wish to involve our communities at the earliest opportunity to ensure that their views are fully accounted for in any further discussions.”

All members will be kept informed of progress and a further report will be presented to a future Planning, Environment and Development Committee.