Beauly Community Council to hold drop-in sessions on SSEN Transmission’s Fanellan substation project
Drop-in sessions for people to look at the Fanellan substation planning application will be held in Beauly.
Beauly Community Council will host the sessions at the village’s Phipps Hall on Tuesday April 29 from 7pm to 9pm and on Wednesday April 30 from 2pm to 4pm.
People can drop in to see the full printed copy of the application for a 400kV substation and converter station and it can also be viewed online.
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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.
But the plans are proving controversial with local residents raising concerns about the scale of the project and the impact during construction.
Kiltarlity residents attending a recent public meeting - at which there was standing room only - voted unanimously for their community council to oppose the plans which they say would amount to industrialisation in a rural area.
Members of Beauly Community Council will be on hand at the drop-in sessions to hear views and feedback or give some guidance about where in the application they can find information they may be interested in.
The community council has been given an extension to the deadline for its response to Friday June 6 to allow time for gathering feedback, seeking clarity on any issues from SSEN and then compiling its response. The deadline for individuals to respond is May 4.
At the sessions, it will provide a list of the concerns it has already identified about potential impact on the village as well as possible conditions it would like to see implemented, in mitigation, should the project gain planning permission.
The community council states: “Be in no doubt, there will be problems for the village in terms of increased traffic, parking, litter, noise and potential impact on businesses and tourism.
“We must seek ways of mitigating the impacts on the village at this stage, not wait until planning permission is granted and then start trying to negotiate retrospectively.”
Find out more about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.
