Pylons plan for heart of 'Sunset Song' land re-routed

Part of controversial plans for pylons across land at the heart of the classic novel Sunset Song has been dropped.

SSEN was consulting on the development of its East Coast 400kV project, which was due to include overhead lines between the villages of Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Tealing in Angus.

The firm said changes had now been made to "reduce community impact".

A proposed substation at Fiddes in the Mearns would instead be built in Fetteresso Forest.

SSEN said it was hoped the changes addressed concerns including the potential impact on the area of Sunset Song's author Lewis Grassic Gibbon's childhood home.

Locals had been objecting to the original plans on both environmental and cultural grounds.

The initial consultation included proposals for overhead lines to cross the A90 in the area.

However, under the new plans, options for a route north of Laurencekirk which do not involve lines crossing that main A90 road will instead go out for fresh consultation.

It comes as SSEN Transmission said it was recruiting 400 new roles across the north of Scotland in the next 12 months as a "£20bn clean energy infrastructure programme gathers pace".

Senior project manager Calum Grant thanked those who took part in the consultation, and said the feedback was "instrumental in informing the changes to our proposals".

He said: "The overhead line routes we are now taking forward to route alignment and our proposed substation locations seek to balance environmental and technical constraints alongside minimising community impacts.

"Recognising the strength of feeling amongst some individuals and communities, we have worked extremely hard to identify an alternative substation site to Fiddes, as well as several changes to our previously consulted on preferred overhead line routes, to help reduce community, environmental and cultural heritage impacts."

Tracey Smith, co-founder of the Save Our Mearns campaign and who lives north of Fordoun, said: "I am absolutely delighted that they have listened to the community and moved the substation to what we think might be a better site."

However she added: "The overhead lines, while personally it will no longer affect me directly, will still impact on others."

Kate Matthews, who lives on the edge of Auchenblae, expressed "horror" and said she was now "directly in the firing line" of the project.

"I will be able to see it from home," she said. "The campaign goes on."

Sunset Song is one of Scotland's best-loved novels.

Published in 1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's tale follows a farming family struggling to make a living in the north east of Scotland leading up to World War One.

It was named Best Scottish Book of All Time at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2005.

Sunset Song has also been adapted as a film and TV series.

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