SSEN’s Fanellan substation plan in Highlands could put centuries-old Beauly Priory at risk, opponents fear
Fears have been raised that a landmark dating back 800 years could be put at risk if controversial plans for a substation near Beauly are approved.
Concerns over Beauly Priory come amid growing opposition to a planning application, submitted by Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks Transmission (SSEN), for a 400kV substation and converter station at Fanellan.
At a standing room only public meeting, organised by Beauly Community Council, a range of issues were raised including the impact of construction traffic on people’s health and safety as well as on buildings including the village’s Priory, an ancient monument.
A show of hands of about 150 people present indicated unanimous opposition to the planned 66-acre substation on an 800-acre farmland site in open countryside.
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It comes in the wake of opposition to the proposed scheme from Kirkhill, Kilmorack, Knockbain, Muir of Ord and Kiltarlity community councils.
SSEN Transmission says the proposed project is a ‘key strategic development’ which will play a major role in supporting national energy security and clean power targets.
Representatives from the company gave a presentation on the proposals and also took questions.
Concerns among residents highlighted traffic issues with some estimates indicating that one HGV per minute would go through Beauly for the Fanellan development.
Residents called for SSEN to be responsible for surveying buildings along the traffic route through the village which is built on soft blue clay, saying the vibrations from so many heavy vehicles would threaten structures.
James Campbell, formerly of Campbells of Beauly Tweed House, was applauded by the meeting after highlighting the vulnerability of Beauly Priory, an ancient monument.
Another resident said Bridgend Burn /Cnoc Bridge on the main road already has structural cracks.
Local resident and community pharmacist Christopher Boyle told the meeting that traffic would expose residents along Beauly High Street to the equivalent of 20,000 cigarettes over five years in air pollution.
“This represents a major degradation of air quality, well outside norms for a rural village,” he said.
There were also questions about why issues such as public health, air quality and electromagnetic fields were scoped out of the planning process.
Beauly Business Group chairman William Crawford was delighted with the vote of opposition.
“It has taken some concerted effort to reach this point and we have to hope now that Highland Council planning committee will turn down the application when it comes before them,” he said.
An SSEN Transmission spokesperson thanked people for their attendance at the meeting saying it had provided another important opportunity to discuss the challenges and benefits of the project.
“We will continue to maintain a close dialogue with the community, including engaging with a number of issues and other claims that were raised at the meeting, ensuring that local people are kept updated at every stage,” the spokesperson said.
“We acknowledge that there will be a degree of disruption during the construction phase and wish to reassure the Beauly community that, if we are successful in achieving planning consent, we will work towards producing detailed traffic management measures that enables construction to take place in a way that keeps this to a minimum.
“Investing to upgrade our electricity transmission network is a major driver of jobs and economic activity locally and across the north of Scotland.
“Our proposed Fanellan substation development is a big part of that, and we want businesses in Beauly to benefit from the significant opportunities our investment will bring to the maximum possible extent, from local jobs and opportunities for local businesses to the increased footfall and significant spending power that this infrastructure project will bring to the area."
According to a report by SSEN, phase two of construction could see one HGV every two and half minutes going through the village but it stresses this would be the worst-case scenario.
The report states that based on the current construction programme, peak daily trips for phase two would be expected to happen for a period of one month and would be 292 HGV daily movements and 104 non-HGV movements - a total of 396.
In a separate vote, a planning application for the Field Beauly BESS battery storage scheme was opposed on the grounds of fire risk and potential to pollute the nearby River Beauly.