SP Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) have published the Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) report for the Cross Border Connection in the Scottish Borders.

The report reflects the input gathered during the first round of community engagement, which took place in Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025.

Around 700 people attended local drop-in sessions, with hundreds more taking part in Community Council meetings across the region. Almost 2,000 submissions were received, providing feedback on the proposed route. Concerns raised focused on the potential impact on properties, local heritage, tourism, and the environment. In response, the preferred route corridor has been revised to reduce effects on sensitive areas.

The consultation feedback will inform the next stage of project design, including the detailed route alignment. This phase will take a landscape- and environment-led approach to ensure infrastructure is sited appropriately.

-- Advertisement --

Marlene Marimbe, Environmental Planner at SP Energy Networks, said: "Sharing information on a project at such an early point in its development means we can take feedback onboard and make real and substantive changes to the plan. 

"The Cross Border Connection is part of the biggest rewiring of the electricity grid since it was first built. Delivering this project will strengthen energy security and help increase the resilience of the electricity network all across the country as we move towards an all-electric future. 

"The next step for us is to carry out extensive and detailed investigation, including a full Environmental Impact Assessment. This will enable us to evolve the proposals and move from a preferred route to a specific alignment with exact information on tower positions, access routes and how we will go about constructing the scheme, if consented. 

"We are on-track to share the detailed proposals with the community at a further round of community consultation in late 2026."

The project will deliver a new power line running north-south from a proposed substation north of Galashiels to the Scotland-England border south of Newcastleton. This will expand grid capacity to meet rising electricity demand, support the electrification of heat and transport, and improve energy security.

The Cross Border Connection is part of a wider investment in the South of Scotland transmission network, with £2 billion planned annually between 2026 and 2031. NGET will also run public engagement activities in autumn 2025 as part of the Development Consent Order process to deliver the section of the project in England.

The PAC report and other consultation materials are available here: Cross Border Connection project documents.