<div>The special landscapes of the Scottish Highlands are under threat, and
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<div>we urgently need your help.
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<div>Scottish and Southern Energy Networks wants to build a line of massive
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<div>pylons ((up to 71m/233m tall) from Spittal in Caithness to Beauly in
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<div>Inverness-shire. If the line goes ahead, it will mean the industrialisation
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<div>of precious, world-famous scenery, the felling of woodland, the
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<div>destruction of wildlife habitats, the loss of important archaeological sites,
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<div>and a threat to tourist businesses in fragile rural economies.
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<div>Local communities have battled in their front rooms, village halls and at
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<div>the Scottish Parliament, to halt this headlong rush into desecrating our
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<div>landscape which is being undertaken without any over-arching energy
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<div>strategy being formulated for the Highlands or Scotland.
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<div>Our efforts were backed by Highland Council – our local authority –
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<div>which objected to SSEN’s planning application. And better still, this
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<div>objection by a statutory consultee has forced the Scottish Government to
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<div>hold a Public Inquiry into the proposal.
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<div>This is our chance.
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<div>This is our opportunity to convince the Inquiry Reporters that SSEN’s
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<div>process for developing the proposed route is fundamentally flawed, that
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<div>they have not listened to legitimate community concerns, and that the
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<div>huge damage the route will cause is not justified. 
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<div>We need to get the horrendous Spittal-Beauly pylon proposal rejected
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<div>and then work to get the governments in Westminster and Holyrood to
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<div>abandon the current private-sector-led renewables free-for-all and instead
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<div>work with local communities to produce a national renewable energy
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<div>strategy for Scotland.’
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<div>We need your help to achieve this – we need to hire a planning
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<div>consultant to represent us at the forthcoming Public Inquiry and we don’t
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<div>have much time. The Inquiry process is already underway, and hearings
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<div>will be taking place before Christmas.
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<div><br />
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<div>Can you help? Can you send a donation? The bigger budget we have,
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<div>the better we can protect our precious landscape, wildlife, heritage and
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<div>quality of life. Please help us protect the Scottish Highlands by donating
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<div>today.
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<div>NB You may wonder why SSEN want to build this pylon line. In short, it’s
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<div>because the turbulent winds of the north of Scotland have come to the
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<div>attention of multi-national businesses looking to exploit the UK
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<div>Government’s headlong rush to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions.
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<div>Wind means £££ whether the turbines turn or not – developers get paid
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<div>in either event so it’s a no-brainer for them.
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<div>In response to the 1000+ wind farm applications now in train in this
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<div>region, the UK Government has charged Scottish and Southern Energy
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<div>Networks to create this massive pylon network to transport electricity
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<div>south.
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<div>We’re not against wind power, but we need the opportunity to quantify
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<div>the carbon implications of these structures, the economic and
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<div>environmental cost of the proposals and to understand the long-term
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<div>strategy into which it fits. None of these have been explained to date.
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<div>We also need to look at other options which allow local communities to
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<div>be partners rather than victims in generating and transmitting renewable
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<div>energy.
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Sarah Thomson

Anonymous

Cherry Alexander

Jayne Shewan

Susan Prince

Carol Bailey

Martin Stubbs-Partridge

Joanna Ritchie

Laura Warren

Catherine Mackenzie

Christine Tait

Andrew Bailey

Michelle Adams

Dunbeath and Berriedale community say NO to PYLONS

Dunbeath and Berriedale community say NO to PYLONS

Still £8,863 to go. Help us build momentum.