A £10 million project to remove a blot on the landscape of one of Perthshire’s most scenic glens is now under way.
Work has started on the first stages of a project which will remove 35 electricity towers from the skyline of the Sma’ Glen, which lies five miles north of Crieff.
The Amulree Rationalisation project is one of the Scottish Government conditions associated with the controversial Beauly-Denny plans, which will see the permanent replacement of 8km of overhead power lines with underground cables.
The spin-off benefit for the Perthshire beauty spot was welcomed by Perth and Kinross Council’s environment committee convener Alan Grant.
“This project is a huge undertaking which I hope will bring a number of benefits to the local area and residents, one of which will be improving the scenic beauty of the area,” he said.
A qualified welcome was given by Sma’ Glen resident Mrs Maureen Beaumont, who had concerns about the wider impact nationally of the Beauly-Denny project.
“This project is the result of a planning condition imposed by Scottish Ministers in order to mitigate the impact of the Beauly-Denny transmission line and, as such, is of course to be welcomed,” she said.
“What would have been much more welcome, would have been the undergrounding of the new, much higher, line as it strides down across our beautiful country.
“With every day it becomes clearer that the impacts of this project on our landscape, our communities and our local roads network were consistently under-estimated and they will remain with us for years to come.”
The undergrounding project by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission is planned to be completed by December this year. The steel towers that the cable replaces will then be dismantled and removed during 2015.
Presently there are two electricity transmission lines routed through the Sma’ Glen when the Amulree and Beauly-Denny projects are completed there will be only one overhead line visible between Amulree and Millrodgie.
Mel Chisholm, Scottish Hydro Electric transmission project manager, explained: “The Amulree undergrounding project is being carried out as part of the Errochty Rationalisation Scheme, as part of the Beauly-Denny transmission line project, and will see the removal of some 8km of steel tower line. The installation of the replacement cable section is a technically challenging project that has taken several years to plan.
“Although our teams will be working on undulating terrain and under some difficult conditions, we are confident that our plans and timescales are achievable.”
Members of the public can contact the project team with any questions on 0845 070 1696, or by emailing beauly-denny@sse.com.