North-east politicians have finally met with senior SSEN staff over the controversial infrastructure plans in Angus and the Mearns.
Mairi Gougeon SNP MSP for Angus North and Mearns and Conservative Andrew Bowie MP for West Aberdeenshire met with senior representatives of the firm.
Both politicians have agreed to work together on the issue, despite their political differences, to represent their constituents.
They told SSEN how both of their inboxes have faced an “unprecedented rise” in complaints about the proposals.
The plans involve building a 188ft pylon line between Kintore, Fiddes, and Tealing.
It will run through some of Scotland’s best agricultural land in the Mearns and will include building two of the largest substations in the UK at Fiddes and Tealing.
Residents of the tranquil countryside have united against the proposals by forming the Save Our Mearns group.
SSEN insists the proposals are necessary to enable the connection of renewable energy to fight against climate change.
What happened at the meeting between the politicians and SSEN?
The meeting was held today at the Dickson Hall in Laurencekirk, and as well as a discussion, a detailed list of questions was put to SSEN for a full response.
Ms Gougeon said: “It was great to have SSEN around the table to make it clear that people in Angus and the Mearns are not happy with these proposals.
“Both Andrew and I have been inundated with complaints about the way SSEN have handled their engagement so far, with concerns about the process, lack of meaningful engagement and fears that decisions have already been made about the routing and siting of both the power line and substation.
“I remain seriously concerned that people are still contacting me everyday having only just found out about the proposals.
“That is why both myself and Andrew have prepared communications to send out to communities across our respective constituency areas to make them aware of the projects and outline how they can make their views known.”
SSEN acknowledged their engagement should have been better but stressed that the consultation and engagement process is still ongoing and at an early stage.
They are encouraging people to get in touch directly with them through its consultation portal.
Politician’s correspondence ‘only growing with each passing day’
Mr Bowie said: “Even though SSEN recently extended the deadline for consultation, the detail of what’s proposed is only just dawning on some communities along the transmission route.
“I’m seeing more public meetings in towns and villages every week, and the amount of correspondence from constituents is only growing with each passing day.
“Engagement has been below the level of what we would expect for such a major project.
“So I’m pleased to work with Mairi so that SSEN get that missing information to residents in the Mearns, and we won’t stop listening to those who are affected.”
SSEN hails ‘productive meeting’
A spokesman for SSEN Transmission said: “We held a productive meeting with Ms Gougeon and Mr Bowie to discuss the project in more detail, and outline how we’re using feedback from the community to help shape our proposals.
“We will continue to engage with affected communities and wider stakeholders in advance of the next round of public consultation that will take place later this year on potential overhead line alignments and substation locations.
“We would also like to reassure stakeholders that we will continue to engage on our proposals after the formal consultation period closes as we further refine our plans to deliver this critical national infrastructure that is key to delivering a pathway to net zero and secure the country’s future energy independence.”
Conversation