Existing power lines in the Highlands

Supporters of a leading conservation charity are being urged to pile the pressure on Scotland’s First Minister to reject plans for a major power line that will cut through the Highlands.

The John Muir Trust wants its members and other supporters to write to Alex Salmond in a last-ditch attempt to get the scheme thrown out. The line will consist of 600 pylons, between 50m and 56m high.

Scottish Labour and the Greens support the plan for the Beauly to Denny line, but most outdoor organisations, including the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and Ramblers Scotland oppose the plan.

Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: “It is not too late for the Scottish Government to demonstrate leadership and be remembered for acting to protect the landscapes that define Scotland and its people.”

She pleaded with the membership of the trust to make its voice heard: “Please help influence the final decision by raising your concerns directly with Alex Salmond.”

The trust maintains that reinforcing the existing east-coast line would provide sufficient transmission for Scotland to meet its 2020 renewable targets. With regards to off-shore wave, tidal and wind energy, sub-sea cables are now recognised by the industry as the best way to transport electricity over long distances, it says. A spokesperson for the JMT said neither of these alternatives was considered in detail at the public local inquiry.

“If approved, the 220km-long Beauly-Denny pylon line will march straight through the Cairngorms national park and run close to Schiehallion and the Wallace Monument,” the spokesperson said. “The new lines will require approximately 600 steel lattice towers, each between 50 and 56m tall.”

Support has already come from members. One said: “Scotland is known for the beauty of its landscape and for our forward thinking approach to the current environmental crisis.  I urge you to make sure that we do not damage the former while losing our status on the latter by adopting an out of date solution to the problems of power transmission.”

Dennis Canavan, former MSP and now president of Ramblers Scotland, said: “If it does get the go-ahead then it will be an unacceptable act of vandalism.”

MCofS chief office David Gibson has also voice his organisation’s opposition. “Government and the renewables industry know that Beauly-Denny is not the only means of bringing power south,” he said. “The power line is not needed as subsea cables would provide a far better long-term solution.

“Scotland’s landscape encourages people from all walks of life to enjoy the mountains, which offer opportunities for recreation, relaxation and tourism. The prospect of a new industrial landscape in the Highlands is one that will have a negative impact on all these activities.”

The John Muir Trust owns much of Ben Nevis, Schiehallion and Quinag.