Opponents of the Beauly-Denny scheme include the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Ramblers Scotland and the John Muir Trust

Opponents of the Beauly-Denny scheme include the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Ramblers Scotland and the John Muir Trust

Opponents of the controversial electricity power line which is planned to cross some of Scotland’s most scenic landscape have demanded the reopening of the public inquiry into the scheme.

Two groups representing 16 national and local bodies say energy minister Jim Mather made procedural errors in disregarding the views of the public inquiry reporters – who chair the proceedings and produce recommendations – and was inconsistent in the approach to demanding the line should be placed underground in certain areas.

The two umbrella groups, Scotland Before Pylons and the Beauly-Denny Landscape Group also said there is a need for a strategic environmental assessment and that, under Scotland’s inquiry rules, there should be a further public inquiry.

The Beauly-Denny Landscape Group is made up of six major outdoor and environmental pressure groups: the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland; the John Muir Trust; the Mountaineering Council for Scotland; the National Trust for Scotland, Ramblers Scotland and the Scottish Wild Land Group.

Scotland Before Pylons includes community groups from the proposed route of the 220km (137-mile) 400kV line, which will replace a smaller existing line and transmit future renewable energy south.

The coalition of opponents say the rules governing inquiries state that if the minister has differed from his reporters in a number of material respects, then parties involved at the inquiry should be allowed further representation.

According to the 16 organisations, Mr Mather chose not to follow the view of reporters on areas it was recommended that consent be withheld.

By deciding to overrule his Reporters without consulting local authorities and other bodies, Mr Mather acted outside of his powers, under rule 21(4) of the Inquiries Procedure (Scotland) Rules, they say.

The groups also believe the energy minister had the power to specify undergrounding along the route of the line. Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 allows the imposition of any conditions which the minister sees fit to impose. These stipulations should have been applied to the route where it passes through the Cairngorms national park, and at its southern end where it will be visible from the Wallace Monument.

The absence of a strategic environmental assessment for the scheme could be a further legal barrier to development of wind power in the Highlands, they argue.

Helen McDade, chair of the Beauly-Denny Landscape Group, and head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: “It is vital when there have been 20,000 objections to a development that the proper procedures are followed and the concerns of objectors are dealt with.

“Some of our most important landscapes depend on Mr Mather taking our points on board and reopening the inquiry to examine these issues fully. The objectors believed that a strategic environmental assessment would show that the proposed Beauly-Denny line is an unnecessary cost to hard-strapped electricity consumers.”

David MacLehose, chair of Scotland before Pylons said: “These are important issues that must be answered. While they are left in the air, there are no winners in this process, only unanswered questions.”

“The decision was clearly an indication of short-term panic, not the long-term strategy which Scotland’s energy potential requires.

“There are effective alternatives to OHLs [overhead lines] including subsea cable which the European Commission has supported, and undergrounding which is an established good practice for transmission

“This public local inquiry process has demonstrated the need for a UK-wide transmission strategy. Pushing ahead with the Beauly-Denny line is allowing the private sector to put shareholders’ influence and short term benefits before national heritage and the health of generations of Scots.

“We are calling on Mr Mather to consider our observations and to reopen the Inquiry so that these matters can be resolved.

“The Minister has been disingenuous in saying that he has no power to require undergrounding. There would have been no extra cost to the developer as this would have been built into the amount of funding approval to build the line.

“It is inconsistent that there are no proposals for undergrounding in the Cairngorms national park, or across the Ochils, where the line will affect the view from the Wallace Monument.”

Earlier this month, Ramblers Scotland convenor Dennis Canavan called on the Tory leader David Cameron to give a manifesto commitment to cancel the Beauly to Denny project when he came north of the border for a conference.

Mr Canavan said: “Although the Scottish Government has given conditional planning approval for Beauly-Denny, energy policy is mainly a reserved matter and Beauly-Denny is a UK project which is now dependent on decisions taken at Westminster.

“The UK energy minister and MPs are in a powerful position to demand a reappraisal of Ofgem’s original approval of the project. They must ask themselves whether £350million should be allocated to a 220km line from Beauly to Denny or to alternative, less damaging electricity transmission routes.

“David Cameron needs to tell us if the Tories are ready to defend Scotland’s magnificent scenery from this disastrous project.

“Is he prepared to put people before pylons?

“For Scotland’s sake, Westminster politicians must throw out today’s discredited energy policy. We need long-distance energy transmission based on subsea cables, not massive pylons marching through the Highlands. Beauly-Denny is all about profit for energy companies, expensive electricity bills for everyone and irreparable damage to Scotland’s greatest generator of economic value: tourism.

“Does Cameron understand Scotland; does he understand value for money when making decisions on energy investment; does he have due regard for our people and our land?  Is he up for the challenge?”

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