Beauly-Blackhillock Reinforcement and Blackhillock-Kintore Reinforcement Consultation Event, 9th March 2016, Monymusk – Briefing Note

Introduction Scottish and Southern Energy Transmission plc (SHE Transmission) has identified a need to reinforce the transmission system in the north of Scotland between the existing Beauly, Blackhillock and Kintore substations. The project need is described in further detail within the Consultation Document (October 2015), which is available on the project websites1.

In order to achieve this objective, SHE Transmission intends to construct a new double circuit 400 kilovolt (kV) overhead line (OHL) supported by lattice steel towers between the existing Beauly, Blackhillock and Kintore substations (hereafter ‘the Projects’).

As a first stage in defining the location of the Projects, a Preferred Route Corridor has been identified between the three connection points within which more detailed study will be carried out and potential overhead transmission line (OHL) route alignments will be defined.

Context and Purpose of this Consultation

Public consultation on the location of a Preferred Route Corridor was undertaken from October 2015 to January 2016. This was completed by means of the following:

 a Consultation Document2, describing the route corridor selection process and preferred route corridor, was produced and distributed in October 2015 by means of the Project websites;  13 consultation events were held, between 27th October 2015 and 25th November 2016 in the following locations: Kintore, Daviot, Alford, Keith, Huntly, Inchberry, Dallas, Rothes, Inverness, Kirkhill, Ferness, Insch and Kilmorack;  a consultation van was used to hold mini-consultation events during the same period in Monymusk, Keig, Gartly, Kiltality and Auchleven;  newspaper adverts were placed in local newspapers during the month prior to the events, and posters advertising the events were placed on local noticeboards; and  feedback forms were made available on the Project websites and at the above listed events.

In response to feedback received during the public consultation period described above, one amendment to the boundary of the Preferred Route Corridor has been made, in the area between Kintore and Monymusk.

An extra consultation event has been organised for the 9th March in Monymusk (Monymusk hall) to seek feedback on this amendment from statutory authorities, key stakeholders, elected representatives and the general public.

Location of the Preferred Route Corridor

The location of the Preferred Route Corridor has been determined as follows:

 Step 1: Route Corridor Identification: information on the existing environmental features and sensitivities across the study area was gathered and mapped, and consideration was made of any opportunities for combining the Projects with existing transmission infrastructure. Based

1 www.ssepd.co.uk/BeaulyBlackhillockReinforcement and www.ssepd.co.uk/BlackhillockKintoreReinforcement 2 SHET (2015) Beauly-Blackhillock and Blackhillock-Kintore Reinforcements –Consultation Document, October 2015

on this information, potential route corridor options were identified, which represented locations with greatest potential for locating the Projects;  Step 2: Route Corridor Analysis: an analysis of the potential route corridor options was made, and a comparison was undertaken in order to identify the Preferred Route Corridor.

Throughout Steps 1 and 2, consultation with a group of key stakeholder organisations, chaired by the Scottish Government, was completed in order to gather input and feedback on planning, environmental, cultural and natural heritage issues. Public consultation has also been undertaken between October 2015 and January 2016, as detailed above.

Table 5.1 of the Consultation Document2 summarises the results of the route corridor analysis (Step 2) and lists the key environmental features that were considered.

It should be noted that the analysis completed at Step 2 was undertaken in accordance with the Holford Rules3 for transmission line routing. These rules recommend a hierarchical approach to routing which first avoids ‘major areas of highest amenity’, then ‘smaller areas of high amenity’, and finally recommends consideration of factors such as length, backdrop, valleys, woodland and other electricity transmission infrastructure. The Holford Rules apply the term ‘amenity’ to refer to environmental designations and classifications such as Natura 2000 sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, National Parks.

In the section of the study area between Monymusk and Kintore, there are three areas classified as Gardens and Designed Landscapes (GDLs)4; at Monymusk, Cluny Castle and Castle Fraser. These areas were assigned a sensitivity level of high for the purposes of the Step 2 analysis and, to avoid any impact on these, the GDLs and intervening land were excluded from the initial preferred route corridor.

Feedback received during the initial public consultation period has suggested that there are potential opportunities for aligning an OHL route between the GDLs. Such a route may avoid impact on the GDLs by following the flatter valley floor and making use of the existing blocks of woodland to screen an OHL from view, and it would also allow for a more direct and shorter length of OHL. The Preferred Route Corridor has therefore been widened in response to these comments.

The Figure below shows the boundary of the revised Preferred Route Corridor, focussing on the area where this revision applies.

Next Steps

SHE Transmission is inviting comments on the reinforcement proposals described within the Consultation Document2 and in this briefing note.

You may comment in person, at the public exhibition, or by post or email. Comments forms are available at this public exhibition and can also be downloaded from the Project websites1.

Comments can be posted or emailed to the SHE Transmission Project Liaison Manager, at the address below:

3 The Holford Rules were first developed in 1959 by Sir William Holford and continue to inform transmission line routeing in the UK 4 Gardens and Designed Landscapes are sites that are classified by Historic Environment Scotland, as meeting the criteria for defining national importance. The Inventory of GDLs provides information on sites in order to raise awareness of their significance and to assist in their management for the future. The Inventory aims to enhance the appreciation and enjoyment of gardens and designed landscapes, for promoting education, and for stimulating further research. Lesley Dow SHE Transmission plc Inveralmond House 200 Dunkeld Road Perth PH1 3AQ

When providing comments, SHE Transmission would be grateful for your consideration of the following questions:

 Do you understand the need for the Projects?  Do you understand the approach taken to selecting an overhead line as the preferred technology?  Do you understand the approach to the selection of the Preferred Route Corridor?  Are there any further factors, or environmental features, that you consider may have been overlooked during the preferred route corridor selection process?  Do you have any other comments about the Preferred Route Corridor?

Consultation responses are requested by 8th April 2016.

All comments received will inform further consideration of the Preferred Route Corridor and the eventual selection of a proposed route corridor.

A Report on Consultation will be produced, which will document the above considerations and the decisions made, and will provide details of the proposed route corridor.

The proposed route corridor will be taken forward for more detailed analysis to identify potential OHL route alignments. The selection of potential OHL route alignments will also be informed by this consultation exercise and through detailed surveys, which may identify any as yet unknown engineering, environmental or land use constraints.

Further public consultation, on a preferred route alignment, will take place in 2017.

It is intended that a proposed route alignment will be identified, with an application for consent for that proposed route to be submitted in 2018.

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Licence Number: EL273236

Legend

0 Preferred Route Corridor 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 2 8

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Preferred Route Corridor 0 0 0 0

0 Beauly-Blackhillock and 0 .

0 Blackhillock-Kintore Reinforcements 0 0 0 1 8 Client: SHE Transmission plc Date Drawn by March 2016 CO Project No. Issue UK12-20600 4

km 0 1 2 4 6 8 Scale @ A3 1:60,000