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11 months ago
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Plans to build pylons through the countryside that inspired the classic novel Sunset Song have been scrapped after a backlash from locals.
Energy giant SSEN said part of the East Coast upgrade had been changed to 'reduce community impact'.
But residents said they would continue their opposition because the change would impact other areas instead.
The company had planned to build overhead lines between the villages of Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Tealing in Angus.
A substation due to be built at Fiddes in the Mearns will now be moved to Fetteresso Forest near to an existing structure, and an overhead line near Forfar will be rerouted further from the town.
Residents have vowed to continue to oppose plans build pylons and overhead lines across Scottish Countryside after energy giant SSEN changed part of the project to reduce its 'community impact'
Residents had expressed concern about impacts on the childhood home of author Lewis Grassic Gibbon and the natural beauty of the area
Residents had expressed concern about impacts on the childhood home of author Lewis Grassic Gibbon and the natural beauty of the area.
The countryside around Fiddes was the setting for Sunset Song, one of Scotland's best-loved novels. Published in 1932 and adapted for film, television and stage, it follows the impact of the First World War on a farming family in the Mearns.
Shona Alexander, whose land had been earmarked for the Fiddes substation, said she was 'delighted' that the original plans were not going ahead, but highlighted that others would be affected instead.
She said: 'It's great for us but it's just moving the problem around. It's going to change different communities and doesn't really make it any better. No one deserves this on their doorstep.'
Lyndsey Ward, spokesman for pressure group Communities B4 Power Companies, branded the new plans 'pylon hokey cokey'.
SSEN will conduct another series of consultations on the proposed changes in the new year
She added: 'They'll move them a bit to the left or a bit to the right but it's not really addressing our concerns.
'This is going to change the face of the north of Scotland forever.'
The changes came as SSEN Transmission announced 400 new jobs across northern Scotland over the next year as part of the £20billion network upgrade. The energy giant has promised benefits to communities including money off bills and the building of 200 homes.
SSEN will launch another series of consultations on the proposed changes in the new year.
Senior project manager Calum Grant said the changes recognised 'the strength of feeling' among individuals and communities.
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