Campaigners against Kintore-Tealing pylon route to demonstrate at Scottish Parliament
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Rural Scotland faces an “unjust transition” without a major shift in strategy by large energy companies, MSPs will hear today (Thursday).
SSEN Transmission is planning a super-pylon and substation route between Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Tealing near Dundee.
The 70-mile, 400kV line will contribute to the Scottish Government’s 2030 carbon net zero road map — but the overland route has been criticised by campaigners who have called for underground or marine transmission as the default.
Busloads of campaigners from across the north and north-east of Scotland are expected to demonstrate outside the Scottish Parliament this morning.
This will be followed by a debate called by the Scottish Conservatives on the subject, led by North East MSP Tess White.
Her motion, which has achieved cross-party support from Labour MSP Michael Marra, states residents “feel their views are routinely disregarded by the Scottish Government’s current strategy, which has reportedly resulted in an unjust transition taking place in rural communities across Scotland.”
She will say: “All of us are keenly aware of the challenge facing Scotland and the UK as we continue down the road to net zero.
“But many of the people who will live and work in the shadow of these monster pylons, or next to the substations, do not feel as if they are being helped along that road. For them, this is an unjust transition.
“They know that once SSEN have made their choices, the final decisions won’t rest with local councils. The buck will stop with the Scottish Government’s energy consents unit.
“And that’s what terrifies them, because many communities have already gone through the trauma of being steamrollered over industrial-size windfarms on their doorsteps.
“It’s perfectly possible to put infrastructure underground or along the coast and that needs to be an option. So I support the communities behind Save Our Mearns, Angus Pylon Action Group and Deeside Against Pylons in their petition to change this government’s approach to what will be a generational change in our landscape.”
A petition to the Scottish Parliament noting “serious concerns about the quality and transparency of the public consultation” has already received more than 2000 signatures since it was lodged on April 10.
It seeks “to address the concerns of communities about the lack of meaningful, responsible, and robust voluntary and pre-application consultation by transmission operators on energy infrastructure projects.”
Its second aim is to “explore all available levers to strengthen community liaison.”
