THE BEAULY to Denny powerline public inquiry, which has lasted months and cost millions of pounds, has failed to address the central issue of whether the controversial upgrade is actually needed, objectors claimed yesterday.

The long-running inquiry comes to a conclusion tomorrow but it could take more than a year for a final decision to be made by Scottish Ministers.

The Beauly Denny Landscape Group—a coalition of six environmental groups including the John Muir Trust and the Ramblers’ Association— yesterday insisted that the inquiry has “not been fit for purpose.”

The £230 million powerline proposal, which will cut through parts of Perthshire, has been highly controversial from the outset.

The 220-kilometre route, with 600 pylons up to 60 metres high, has brought in over 17,000 objections.

Perth and Kinross Council is among four authorities objecting to the Scottish and Southern Energy application.

Director of the John Muir Trust Nigel Hawkins said, “This multi-million-pound inquiry has completely failed to scrutinise Scottish and Southern Energy’s claim that the 220-kilometre pylon line is essential to transport renewable wind energy from the far north.

“At no point have clear alternatives to the line such as a sub-sea cable been properly considered.

“The Beauly Denny pylon line is the cheapest and quickest fix that will bring maximum return for Scottish and Southern shareholders.

“If allowed to go through, Scotland’s economy, not to mention its reputation abroad, will be paying the true costs for generations to come.”

The line will require around 600 steel lattice towers each between 56m and 65m tall, twice the height of the existing line and nearly as tall as the Wallace Monument in Stirling.

The Beauly Denny Landscape Group is concerned that this development will permanently disfigure Scotland’s landscape.

Mr Hawkins said, “If this wild land is degraded there is a serious risk of permanently damaging the tourist industry, a mainstay of the Scottish economy.

“Tourism injects over £4.2 billion annually to the Scottish economy. It employs 200,000 people— just under 10% of the entire workforce.”

The wildland campaign officer for Ramblers’ Association Scotland, Davie Black, added, “The problem from the start has been that the thorniest aspects of the Beauly-Denny proposal are national issues, not suitable for examination in a public local inquiry.

“Taxpayers are now paying the multi-million price tag for the inquiry because of the previous Scottish Executive’s failure to put in place a Scottish energy and transmission policy.

“The way the Trump planning application has been handled has raised severe doubts about the ability of the planning process to protect Scotland’s environment.

“Let’s hope that ministers realise just how much is at stake.

“Scotland’s international reputation for wild and beautiful scenery and the tourist industry it supports hang in the balance.”