SSEN Transmission has welcomed news that the first of 32 transmission towers in Killin within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park has been successfully brought down this week as part of a wider project to remove historic electricity transmission assets in the area.

The first tower felling marks a major milestone for SSEN Transmission's Killin VISTA (Visual Impact of Scottish Transmission Assets) project, which is removing 7.8km of overhead line in the National Park.

The £22.3M project, has been funded as part of a £500M scheme administered by the energy regulator, Ofgem. The scheme allows the three GB electricity transmission owners to apply for funding to mitigate the impact of historic electricity infrastructure in National Parks and National Scenic Areas.

Ahead of the tower felling, over the last 18 months, a team from SSEN Transmission and their principal contractor Morgan Sindall Infrastructure have been working in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park laying new underground cable to replace sections of overhead line running from Killin substation to Lix Toll. This allows removal of the towers at the most prominent section above Killin and the Falls of Dochart, as well as those crossing the A827.

The tower removal phase is expected to continue until May.

SSEN Transmission's Project Manager, Alistair McDonald, explains the work involved in a project like this: "The first tower felling is a major milestone in our Killin VISTA project, with a total of 32 set to be removed over the next two months.

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"The electrical infrastructure in Killin was originally installed in the 1950s, and thanks to the funding from Ofgem we are able to remove this infrastructure and underground with cables instead, helping to reduce their visual impact in the area.

"Before we even think about removing the first tower, we had to construct the new underground section of the network,  excavating trenches and laying ducts in which we installed approximately 4.5km of cable. Only now we know we have a reliable new section of network can we turn our attention to the dismantling the overhead line.

"Throughout the development and construction of the project we have worked really closely with the local community, and we would like to thank them for their support. We are very pleased that after months of cable works, everyone will now get a real sense of what the project is all about and will see the towers come down one by one, over the coming months."

Stuart Mearns, Director of Place at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, said: "This work to remove overground infrastructure and replace it with underground cables is hugely beneficial when it comes to reducing the visual impact of energy provision for our local communities and on special landscapes here in the National Park.

"It is very much in line with the improvements to infrastructure we will be driving forward as we develop our new National Park Partnership Plan and consider what a 21st century National Park that delivers for climate, nature and people looks like.

"This work has already delivered landscape benefits in other areas of the National Park and I am delighted for the community in Killin – and for visitors to that area - to see the first of these structures come down. We look forward to seeing the improved landscape in coming months when all 32 towers have been removed."

This is SSEN Transmission's fourth VISTA tower-felling project to be approved by Ofgem, and the third one to be carried out in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Last year, the first Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park VISTA project was completed at Sloy near Inveruglas, on the shores of Loch Lomond, where 12 towers were removed and 6.6km of cable undergrounded to improve the visual impact of the electricity infrastructure in the area. A second VISTA scheme at Glen Falloch near Crianlarich was also completed in spring 2022, which involved removing 13 towers and undergrounding 4.5km of overhead line in the scenic glen.

In 2020, 12km of overhead line and 46 existing transmission towers near the villages of Boat of Garten and Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms National Park were replaced with underground cabling, marking SSEN Transmission's first VISTA tower felling project.