Partial laying underground of the controversial Beauly to Denny power line must be considered by the developers, energy minister Jim Mather has insisted.
Mr Mather continued, “The proposals that SPT have submitted to the Scottish Government were deemed unsatisfactory by Stirling Council during SPT’s consultation last year.
“I have considered SPT’s proposals and concluded that the formal process of consultation with Stirling Council cannot usefully begin.
“I have therefore asked SPT and Stirling Council, as a matter of urgency, to engage closely and consider the scheme further, including any as yet unexplored options.
“These include options requested by Stirling Council for partial undergrounding of the main 400kV line, undergrounding of the 132kV line from Fallin to Glenbervie and strengthening the existing mitigation proposals.”
He has given just two months for the consultation to take place.
Mr Mather said, “To avoid any risk of delay to the development, I have recommended that a period of up to 60 days is taken to carry out the joint work and that a final submission is made by SPT of improved proposals by the end of June 2011.
“I expect closer joint working between SPT and the council will result in a scheme which strikes the best possible balance between the development and the legitimate concerns of communities in the Stirling area.”
MSP Murdo Fraser said, “It is only due to the efforts of groups such as Stirling Before Pylons, the John Muir Trust, Ramblers Scotland and the Stirling Council Beauly-Denny Steering Group that the potential health hazards and impact on tourism and the local environment that will come with this development are being exposed.
“Through their hard work and efforts, we are now seeing concessions from the Scottish Government and it is vital that the Beauly- Denny power line is undergrounded in the Stirling area.”
Protesters remain concerned about the impact of the high-voltage line which passes through miles of environmentally sensitive countryside in Perthshire and Stirlingshire.
Calls have long been made to bury it, rather than use towering pylons to carry the wires, needed to harness Scotland’s growing power output.
Mr Mather has asked Scottish Power Transmission (SPT) to work with Stirling Council on a visual impact mitigation scheme in a bid to discover whether undergrounding is a possibility.
Under the terms of the Electricity Act, he cannot insist on the cabling being buried but planning consent hinges on the mitigation scheme being agreed.
Mr Mather said, “The Beauly-Denny upgrade is crucial for Scotland to harness, transmit and export our vast renewables potential.
“In approving the upgraded line last year, I put in place comprehensive conditions to protect communities and the environment and reduce as far as possible the visual impact of the line in Stirling.
“I said at the time that the key to ensuring that the development is delivered appropriately is ongoing engagement with local communities, their representatives and other key interests.
“The conditions require this and it is for ministers to make the final decision on SPT’s proposed Stirling visual impact mitigation scheme, following consultation with Stirling Council.”
Objectors to the scheme remain furious that it could have a visual impact on historic sites like the Sheriffmuir battleground and Wallace Monument.
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