Beauly residents raise traffic concerns over highly controversial SSEN substation plans
Residents of Beauly have raised concerns about the volume of traffic that could be created if plans for a highly controversial substation are approved.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Transmission is seeking permission to build a new outdoor substation at Bingally that it believes is vital to the delivery of its upgraded Beauly-Denny overhead line.
It is seeking to increase the line’s capacity from 275kV to 400kV as more renewable projects come online across the Highlands and Islands now and into the future.
But the decision to site a new outdoor 400/132kV Air Insulated Switchgear (AIS) substation in the Fasnakyle area, southeast of Cannich, near Tomich, has sparked a furious backlash due to its location among some of the region’s most picturesque and sensitive landscapes.
SSEN insists the site was identified as the best from an environmental and technical perspective, and a series of pre-application consultation events have given members of the public the opportunity to help shape the substation proposals.
These included landscape and screening measures to reduce visual impact, a detailed plan for construction traffic that seeks to minimise impact on the local road network, and proposals for biodiversity net gain.
But critics argue that the substation will be devastating to the natural beauty of the area, and also detract from the national nature reserves (NNR), sites of special scientific interest (SSSI), and RSPB reserve nearby.
It has prompted a flood of objections, which stood close to 400 at the time of writing - and even include concerns raised by the likes of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and the Woodland Trust.
Beauly Community Council has now submitted concerns about construction traffic and has asked Highland Council to ensure a condition is made on the planning consent that stops the use of HGVs through Beauly.
The submission made by Jane Cumming, chairperson of Beauly Community Council reads: “This is yet more construction traffic on the roads in and around Beauly increasing the burden on the main road through the village.
“Beauly Community Council notes the route map within the Environmental Assessment Report Vol 2 which suggests no HGVs would travel via the Struy Road, nor the Culnakirk/Kiltarlity to Drumnadrochit road.
“This suggests no HGV traffic will go via Beauly and we would ask The Highland Council to ensure there is a suitably worded condition applied to any planning consent which enforces the route map and controls the use of roads in and around Beauly to prevent further cumulative impact, should planning permission be granted.”
More information on the Bingally 400/132kV substation project is available on the project webpage at ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/project-map/bingally-400kv-substation.