SSEN have dismissed a request by Stonehaven and District Community Council for an extended consultation period on their preferred route for the Kintore to Tealing overhead transmission line.
Instead, the transmission network provider is pushing ahead with its next phase of community engagement events – the third round of consultation on the alignment of the proposed 400Kv powerlines, and the second pre-application consultation on proposed new substations, including one at Hurlie, Fetteresso Forest, adjacent to an existing substation
Complaint about round two fell on deaf ears
At their meeting last month, SDCC decided they could not submit a response to SSEN’s second round of consultation as they did not feel they had been provided enough information about the transmission company’s proposals.
Members were unhappy with the quality and duration of the presentation made in Stonehaven. And they said SSEN avoided questions about the impacts of future projects, such as the Glendye Wind Farm and future offshore wind farms, which would tie into and add to the proposed electrical infrastructure.
It was agreed a letter would be sent asking SSEN for more time to respond, and for a full consultation event on the project to be delivered in Stonehaven.
An SSEN spokesperson confirmed receipt of that letter and said: “We have responded to the community council and advised that while the consultation feedback period has closed, we will return to Stonehaven over the summer as part of our next round of public engagement events.”
SSEN will not or cannot provide map of all proposed infrastructure
Much of SDCC’s discussions highlighted the need for an understanding of not just this project, but all transmission projects in the pipeline – so The Bellman asked SSEN for a map showing its proposed infrastructure as it should appear in 2030.
SSEN’s spokesperson said they were unable to provide this information.
