Stirling Council is extremely disappointed at the Scottish Government's decision to accept Scottish Power Transmissions’ (SPT’s) limited proposals for visual mitigation of their 400kv high voltage over-head power line as it passes across the Forth Valley to the east of Stirling, through historic and sensitive landscapes and close to many communities.

Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy Enterprise & Tourism, announced to the Scottish Parliament that he has approved SPT's proposals for the Stirling Visual Impact Mitigation Scheme. This means it will mitigate the impact of the line through planting, landscape reinforcement and undergrounding of existing low voltage overhead lines, including seven kilometres of 132 kv line between Fallin and Glenbervie; along with wider compensatory environmental and landscape improvements as part of the development of the Central Scotland Green Network.

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In response, Councillor Callum Campbell, Chair of the Council's Beauly – Denny Power Line Steering Group said: "Stirling Council and affected communities will be hugely disappointed by the Ministers' decision to allow the over-head line to be constructed without any form of effective mitigation. Localised tower painting and some screen planting will not detract from the presence of 60 metre high pylons crossing a relatively flat landscape, and the power line will have a significant impact on the Wallace Monument and the Ochils Area of Great Landscape Value. The increase in high-voltage overhead power lines to the south of Plean, where there are already twin–power lines passing close to the community, is very concerning and wholly unacceptable in terms of visual intrusion and health reasons."

"What is particularly disappointing is that the Council put forward to the Scottish Government and SPT other forms of mitigation, including under grounding, which have been totally disregarded. The communities of Stirling unanimously rejected the mitigation proposals as wholly ineffective at the consultation stage; the views of local people have been totally ignored by the Minister in making his decision."

(CD)