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Proposed Beauly to Denny 400kv
Overhead Transmission Line Consultation
Response from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland
Introduction
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is the representative
body for hillwalkers, climbers and off-piste skiers and receives core
grant funding from sportscotland in recognition of this status. We are
a membership organisation with over 2,000 individual members plus 139
affiliated clubs that contain over 7,000 members. Our Committee
structure is entirely voluntary and appointments are the result of a
democratic process. The professional staff complement is made up of
four posts at our Perth office.
The MCofS welcomes the opportunity to respond to this
consultation, which is of great significance to the landscape of
Scotland's mountains and therefore people's enjoyment of them. We offer
our response to this initial consultation and request that we be kept
informed and involved in the ongoing consultative process.
Insufficient Justification for the Development of the Transmission Line
The MCofS is not entirely convinced of the need for the proposed
upgrade. We say this because there appears to us to be a lack of
coherent government strategy on energy, which combined with a piecemeal
approach to renewables and a hesitant commitment to nuclear, creates a
degree of uncertainty about the need for the upgraded 400kv line down
the spine of the country.
We are convinced that the medium to long-term future of
renewables is going to be offshore, in which case a north-south line
along the middle of the country might not be the optimal route for
transporting electricity to the central belt and onwards to the rest of
the United Kingdom.
We hear reports of an underwater cable off the west coast of
Scotland that would transport electricity from windfarms and marine
energy schemes in and around the Hebrides, and wonder how this fits in
with the Beauly to Denny plans. We also see SNH's locational guidance
for onshore windfarms and their preference for encouraging such
developments to be pushed towards the east coast rather than the west.
This leads us to wonder if an undersea cable in the North Sea has been
considered as part of the nation's electricity network.
Given the current debate about the landscape issues and
controversies surrounding windfarms and small scale hydro developments,
we question just how much energy is likely to be produced from these
sources in the Highlands before the technology, civil engineering
capability and financial commitment is in place to develop significant
amounts of energy from the sea.
We would like to discuss these issues with energy industry
representatives before we can begin to be convinced of the requirement
for the Beauly to Denny line upgrade.
If the Upgrade Does Go Ahead
Whilst we remain unconvinced of the requirement for the upgrading of
the line, we wish to comment on the alignment issues raised in the
consultation paper.
If the line were to be upgraded, then our preference would be
for keeping the new line as close as possible to the current line. We
do need to point out, however, that we are particularly concerned about
the increase in size of the proposed new pylons.
From a mountaineering point of view we believe that the Fort
Augustus to Errochty section of the route to be the most significant in
terms of mountain landscape and wild land quality. Within this section
we disagree with the consultation paper's justification for two
significant variations from the original route.
We are concerned about the cutting of the corner from Laggan
to Dalwhinnie, as this would take the pylons through a fairly remote
area that has no such infrastructure at the current time. Although the
current line covers a longer distance, we would like to see the
retention of this line as a viable alternative for consideration, as we
believe that undeveloped areas should remain that way wherever
possible.
The second variation we have concerns about is further south
where the paper comes down on the side of route b6. From the point of
view of conserving land that is wild, or gives a feeling of wildness,
we are concerned that b6 encroaches onto some relatively unspoilt land,
whereas b7 follows the existing line, which runs alongside the A9 for a
further distance before turning inland. Whilst this would mean being
visible from the A9 for further we feel that the line is going to be
visible from the A9 anyway. We also believe that although this is the
approach to the current southern gateway to the Cairngorms National
Park, we take the view that the natural gateway to the National Park is
at Blair Atholl and hope that in time this will become the official
gateway.
In an ideal world we would prefer to see the cables buried
underground, but accept that the financial reality makes this an
unrealistic proposition. We do wonder, however, if it would be possible
to bury one short section of perhaps 3 to 5 miles. If it was possible
to bury a section for such a distance we would suggest the stretch
through the Corrieyairack Pass. This is probably the remotest section
of the whole route and to have the current pylons replaced by a buried
cable on this stretch would be a positive planning gain to offset the
negative impact of larger pylons along the rest of the route.
Finally, we would like to stress the importance we place on
ongoing dialogue and will welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues
raised in this response with you.
Proposed Beauly to Denny
400kv Overhead Transmission Line
Indicative Route Consultation
Response from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland
Introduction
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is the representative
body for hillwalkers, climbers and off-piste skiers and receives core
grant funding from sportscotland in recognition of this status. We are
a membership organisation with over 2,000 individual members plus 139
affiliated clubs that contain over 7,000 members. Our Committee
structure is entirely voluntary and appointments are the result of a
democratic process. The professional staff complement is made up of
four posts at our Perth office.
The MCofS welcomes the opportunity to respond to this
consultation, which is of great significance to the landscape of
Scotland's mountains and therefore people's enjoyment of them. We offer
our response to this consultation, as we did to the earlier
consultation, and request that we be kept informed and involved in the
ongoing consultative process.
Insufficient Justification for the Development of the Transmission Line
As we stated in our previous response, the MCofS is not convinced of
the need for the proposed upgrade of the Beauly to Denny transmission
line. The justification seems to be based on short term thinking, but
the consequences of the upgrade would be permanent damage to some of
Scotland's finest landscapes.
The proposed upgrade appears to be to meet the demand from the
wind farms that are currently being proposed for the highlands and
islands. However, the kind of wind factories that are being proposed
are:
- becoming increasingly unpopular with the public,
- not part of a coherent government strategy,
- relying on technology that is being questioned by many eminent scientists and engineers,
- regarded as a temporary measure, and
- likely to be reversed by a Conservative government at Westminster.
Furthermore, the types of energy that we are likely to develop
in the future are unlikely to require a power transmission line down
the centre of Scotland. Any return to nuclear energy production is
likely to be based on the redevelopment of existing power stations,
such as Torness, Hunterston and Chapelcross; all in the south of
Scotland and not requiring grid upgrading in the north of the country.
Any significant marine power station off the north or west
coast of Scotland would also be unlikely to require a grid line down
the centre of Scotland. Indeed, such a station, if it were to produce a
similar power output to that of a fossil fuel burning station, would
merit significant investment in an undersea cable.
Ullapool to Beauly Proposals
Since the first Beauly to Denny consultation closed news has emerged
that Scottish and Southern are making plans for an Ullapool to Beauly
transmission line in order to transport electricity generated on Lewis
to the grid. The MCofS has serious concerns about the proposed route
between Ullapool and Beauly, and questions whether there is a need for
the line.
If a power station in or around the Western Isles was to
create a significant amount of energy the power would be carried by
undersea cable directly to its place of consumption in the south of
Scotland or north of England. However, it is because the output of the
Lewis wind factories would be so low that plans are being made to
transport the electricity by the cheapest means possible to enter the
grid at Beauly.
The proposed line would create a massive landscape impact;
especially given that there is no existing transmission line along that
route, and we would make a strong objection to any proposal to develop
such a line in one of Scotland's most scenic mountain areas.
The Indicative Proposed Route
We have mixed views about the line of the indicative proposed route as
shown in the latest consultation paper. If construction of the proposed
line were to go ahead we would welcome the opportunity to see the
removal of pylons from the Corrieyairack Pass, which appears to be an
option under consideration.
We also note that several options are still under
consideration to the north of Dalwhinnie. We have a strong preference
for the current route being retained and Strath Mashie being left
untouched.
We welcome the decision not to proceed with the proposed
development of a new route alongside Loch Garry, which would have taken
the line into remote and undeveloped land.
We have concerns about the proposed route around the north and
west of Crieff, as this would take the pylons through a scenic area and
cut across the foot of the hills to the north of the town. The current
route to the east of Crieff is at least preferable to the proposed new
route.
The impact of the line on outdoor recreation is not confined
to the Highlands, and we are concerned about the effect it would have
on areas that are popular with walkers and other visitors at the
southern end of the line. The Ochils are very popular with walkers and
the proposed new line could have a serious impact on these attractive
hills. For example, Dumyat is a popular hill that attracts locals and
visitors alike, but the route of the proposed Beauly to Denny
transmission line would have a major impact on the view from its slopes
and summit.
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With
the current drive towards the generation of electricity from renewable
resources, and particularly, the many plans for wind farms and hydro
schemes in Northern Scotland, Scottish and Southern Energy PLC have
produced plans to upgrade the power transmission lines running from the
Highlands to the Central Belt.
