Politicians Unite to Extend Consultation on Cross-Border Power Line Concerns in Scottish Borders
A row is brewing in the Borders about the proposed cross Borders power lines which would see electricity pylons stretching from north to south through the region.
The Cross Border Connection project proposes around fifty miles of four hundred kilovolt overhead lines running from a new Gala North substation south of Lauder through a Teviot Substation, to be built at Whitrope, and past Newcastleton into England.
Six weeks of public consultation is due to end on the twenty-eighth of October, but local politicians have started a campaign to extend that until nearer Christmas.
Councillor Leagh Douglas has put a motion to Scottish Borders Council, insisting her constituents are worried about the effect on Selkirkshire – particularly the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys – and wider tourism. Her Peebleshire counterpart Julie Pirone says her area residents are worried about the impact on the Tweed Valley and the Southern Upland Way. They are backed by MP John Lamont, who has written to SP Energy Networks, who are developing the project alongside The National Grid, and MSP Rachael Hamilton is to meet with the company, backing the councillors’ call for the consultation to be extended until December 23rd.
This, they say, would allow further time for local residents to fully engage in the consultation and have their say on a project that could have a major impact on the Borders countryside. It is vital that local people take part in the consultation, given this will be their only chance to give comments or objections on the proposed route before it gets to the detailed design stage.
”“I am concerned about the impact these proposed super-pylons could have on areas across the Borders. It is only right that SP Energy Networks extend the public consultation and allow more people to voice their concerns.”
John LamontMP
John Lamont MP has written to, backing the calls for an extension and Rachael Hamilton MSP is supportive of the calls too.
Mr Lamont said: “The Borders has some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere in Scotland or the United Kingdom. That is why, like many local residents, I am concerned about the impact these proposed super-pylons could have on areas across the Borders. It is only right that SP Energy Networks extend the public consultation and allow more people to voice their concerns.”
