The long awaited decision on the Beauly-Denny power line was finally announced by the Scottish Government recently and it will impact upon communities across Strathearn such as Crieff and Muthill. 

Few can dispute that this power line is regarded as vital to the future of renewable energy transmission in Scotland as the energy created by proposed offshore wind and wave generation plants will have to be transported to the grid.

However the way this issue has been handled by the Scottish Government has raised many concerns for residents across Perthshire and leaves a lot to be desired.  After the longest public enquiry in Scottish history, Jim Mather the SNP Minister in charge read out a statement to Parliament which was shambolic to say the least.  This comes after accusations that this report has been sitting on his desk for the past year!

The visual impact of around 600 pylons which can be up to 200 feet in height means many Perthshire residents have good reason to be worried.  From the outset of this consultation process I argued that certain section of the lines, where it comes close to dwellings, should be under grounded.

The public have been led to believe that under grounding in certain areas is still possible but the Minister’s performance at the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee last week appears to place all this in doubt.

What is needed now is some truth and honesty and an end to the SNP trying to hide behind a decision that they obviously feel will be damaging for them. The consent given by the Minister appears to be for an overhead line along the whole route. If this is to be backtracked on and under grounding is a real possibility the Minister needs to say so now and stop hiding the facts.

New evidence is coming to light every single day and we have now uncovered that the SNP Executive had the possibility to support the Reporter's recommendation to withhold approval on two sections of the route which could have resulted in under grounding these areas and refused to do so. I find this astounding.  I understand that one of the areas recommended by the Reporter for withholding approval on was around Crieff and I am incensed that the Minister did not take this opportunity to do everything he could to support both the Reporter's decision and the people in my constituency who will be negatively affected.   The Executive's position is a shambles.

They now claim to be setting up groups who will engage with the local community but details are thin on the ground.  I have written further to Jim Mather in order to find out what representation communities in this area will have and whether these groups’ recommendations will carry any weight. 

I suspect they may just be an exercise in PR and that decisions have already been made.