Nearly 800 Keith residents sign 'resite Blackhillock 2' petition
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A PROPOSED substation could "destroy" Keith's future development, according to a campaign spokesperson whose petition received almost 800 signatures.
The petition, which ran between April until early June, urged energy infrastructure firm SSEN to find an alternative to their "preferred site" for the Blackhillock 2 400kV substation, off the A95 Banff Road.
Building the substation, part of a major network upgrade, near nurseries, schools, new housing and a site previously earmarked for a new health centre would be inappropriate, the petition argued.
And the current proposed site could hamper efforts to bypass Keith with a dualled A96 and will worsen town traffic, argued campaign spokesperson Linda Gorn.
She also said local people are concerned about whether the large substation will impact health.
In a letter to SSEN, sent after the petition closed, Mrs Gorn said: "if SSEN were to go ahead with this preferred site it would destroy any future development of the town of Keith for housing, et cetera."
Summing up, Mrs Gorn said SSEN's plans are "just not in the right place".
"We're still asking them to reconsider and resite elsewhere," she said.
"Hundreds of people wouldn't have signed the petition if they didn't believe it was necessary.
"It's just not in the right place – it's as simple as that.
"This is all about people pressure. Asking folk to listen to the voice of the people never hurts."
Local groups will quiz SSEN about their plans at an upcoming meeting.
Blackhillock 2 is a key part of a new 400kV overhead line between Beauly and Peterhead and, an SSEN spokesperson said, the substation is "required" to support offshore green energy schemes in the north of Scotland.
And the planned upgrades and Blackhillock 2 project are essential to the UK and Scottish Government meeting 2030 renewables goals, according to SSEN.
An SSEN Spokesperson said: “We would like to thank all stakeholders who have kindly taken their time to provide their feedback on our plans to build this new substation at Blackhillock.
"We would also like to assure all stakeholders that we fully recognise the strength of feeling amongst some and will do all we can to balance the views of local communities against the key environmental, technical and economic factors we have to consider in the development of this critical national infrastructure.
“Our team is currently considering all feedback received and are further investigating the suitability of alternative sites in line with community requests alongside any mitigation measures in areas of particular local sensitivity, which will be used to help further shape our proposals moving forwards.
"While the initial project consultation period closed in April, our engagement remains ongoing, and we will be working closely with the local community and stakeholders and seeking their input throughout the development of this project.
“We also take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and are committed to deliver biodiversity net gain on all our projects to ensure we leave a lasting and positive environmental legacy."
As part of her campaign, Mrs Gorn has also written letters to Moray MSP Richard Lochhead and Moray MP Douglas Ross.
However, she said she "believes SSEN are listening", and has worked closely with community liason officer Ryan Davidson.
She encouraged those concerned to contact Mr Davidson, at ryan.davidson@sse.com, with feedback and for interested community groups to ask to join the SSEN meeting.
"This is not at a planning application stage yet," Mrs Gorn said.
"So, to people who are saying it is done and dusted, that just isn't not true."
