Controversial plan for 135-mile power line looks set to go to public inquiry

Highland councillors will today visit part of the route proposed for upgraded overhead power lines between Beauly, near Inverness, and Denny, near Stirling, ahead of a decision.
 
However, John Rennilson, the council's planning director, says that, while he accepts the upgrade in principle, he is recommending refusal of the application by Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE).
 
A special committee meeting on 12 April will discuss the plan. If the council decides to object, it will automatically trigger a public inquiry into the scheme.
 
Last October, SSE outlined plans to replace the 132,000-volt overhead transmission line with a 400kV line to accommodate energy from proposed wind farms in the Highlands and Islands. The new transmission line would be supported by about 600 pylons - some 200 fewer than the existing one - but they would be more than 20 metres higher.
 
Mr Rennilson said: "There is a need for an upgrade in order to unlock potential renewable electricity generation capacity in the Highlands and Islands, whether or not sub-sea cables are laid for transmission from the Western Isles and Shetland."
 
But he said the council should object to the SSE plan as it would significantly affect the amenity of four specific lengths of the 135-mile route - Beauly-Eskadale and Cannich-Guisachan, in Inverness-shire, and River Spey-Feagour Wood and an area west of the A889 and east of the A9 in Badenoch and Strathspey.
 
He also said no decision on the plan should be made until the government's advisory group reports on the health concerns surrounding high-voltage overhead power lines.
 
The council has received more than 8,000 letters of objection to the plans, with just one letter in support. Campaigners living along the route of the proposed line of pylons have also handed over more than 10,000 objections to the Scottish Executive.
 
Campaign groups have complained about the potential health risk and the pylons' impact on property values, wildlife and tourism. They have called for the cables to be buried on some parts of the proposed route.
 
In December, a protest march, led by Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, was held against the power-line proposals.
 
An SSE spokesman said: "We believe the application we have made is a good one and is capable of obtaining consent without the need for a public inquiry. If an inquiry is called, we will enter into it positively and hope for a successful outcome."
 
He said a recent study showed underground cables would cost six to 12 times more than overhead lines, have more prolonged faults and take longer to repair, as well as involving "motorway-width disturbance".
 
The Cairngorms National Park Authority has said it does not want the power line going through its area, and Scottish Natural Heritage has lodged objections to the plan, although it, too, said it was not opposed in principle. The agency added that it had outstanding concerns about the impact of some aspects of the proposals on the natural heritage.
 
In particular, it wants alternative route options considered in greater detail where the pylons cross the Cairngorms National Park and the Ochils, near the Wallace Monument, and where it is said the visual impact on the landscape would be particularly prominent.