Update PROPOSED Spittal to Loch Buidhe to Beauly 400kV OHL Connection ECU00006008
Garve and District Community Council
Added at 07:51 on 03 April 2026
We have recieved the following by email today - 3rd April 2026
SSEN Transmission - Notice of submission of Additional Information for Section 37 (s37) application to the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) for the proposed Spittal to Loch Buidhe to Beauly 400 kV OHL Connection
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Plc, “the Company”, (registered in Scotland under company registration number SC213461 at Inveralmond House 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3AQ) has submitted additional information to the Scottish Ministers in relation to the application for consent under Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, to install, operate and keep installed approximately 173km of new 400 kV Overhead Line (OHL), supported on steel lattice tower structures including downleads, between proposed new substations at Banniskirk (ND 15905 56823) in the area of Spittal, and Fanellan (NH 48534 43208) in the area of Beauly, with a connection via a proposed new substation at Carnaig (NH 65053 97458) near to the existing substation at Loch Buidhe, in the area of Bonar Bridge. The Proposed Development also includes permanent diversion works required to existing 132 kV and 275 kV OHLs, of approximately 18km in total, to enable the construction of the Proposed Development including the temporary diversion works required to construct the permanent diversion, and ancillary development and associated works. In total, the Proposed Development would comprise approximately 191km of new OHL infrastructure.
The Proposed Development is known as the Spittal to Loch Buidhe to Beauly 400 kV OHL Connection.
Given the length of the proposed alignment for the new 400 kV OHL connection, and to describe more easily the baseline environmental factors, the OHL has been split into five defined geographical ‘Sections’. The Sections are
Section A: Spittal to Brora,
Section B: Brora to Loch Buidhe,
Section C: Loch Buidhe to Dounie,
Section D: Dounie to Near Strathpeffer, and
Section E: Near Strathpeffer to Beauly.
The Proposed Development has been subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and an EIA Report and Habitats Regulation Appraisal have been produced to accompany the application for consent.
The Company has also applied for a direction under Section 57(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 that planning permission for the development be deemed to be granted.
The Company has now submitted additional information to Scottish Ministers, which includes information relating to:
Private Water Supplies in Volume 5 Appendix 10.2: DWPA and PWS Assessment and Figure 10.6: Private Water Supplies. This information is confidential and will be shared directly with relevant statutory consultees, but not available for public inspection.
Further “visual material” in relation to 24 Scheduled Monuments prepared in addition to Volume 5 Appendix 12.8: Cultural Heritage Visualisations.
A Heritage Assessment of the direct impacts on the Fairburn Garden and Designed Landscape prepared in addition to Volume 2 Chapter 12 Cultural Heritage and Volume 5 Appendix 12.5 Heritage Impact Assessment Table.
Viewing the Additional Information including the updates and clarifications:
If you wish to view the Additional Information, you can do so on the Energy Consents Unit’s website: www.energyconsents.scot. The application reference is: ECU00006008.
All the documentation submitted as part of the Additional Information can also be viewed and downloaded via our dedicated project webpage.
A hard copy of the Additional Information will also be available to be viewed at the locations listed on the infographic.
Copies of the Additional Information may be obtained from SSEN Transmission email: SLBB@sse.com at a charge of £1000.00 per hard copy, or available on USB Pen Drive or CD free of charge.
Submitting representations:
Any new representations on the application may be submitted via (in PDF format if possible) to Econsents_Admin@gov.scot - please note the underscore _ between Econsents and Admin.
All formal representations regarding the Additional Information must be sent directly to the Energy Consents Unit and should not be sent to SSEN Transmission. The Energy Consents Unit will advise consultees directly on the deadline for representations, which we understand to be 22nd April 2026.
Advertising and Questions:
Alongside this email notification we will also issue a formal statutory notice in local newspapers and issue updates via our project webpage.
To assist with further information, we have also produced some Frequently Asked Questions regarding our overhead line Section 37 consent application that are available via the FAQ tab on our project webpage.
Thank you for taking the time to read this notice.
Stuart MacPherson | Local Authority Engagement Manager