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

Anonymous

Marian Laing

Christine Tait

Andrew Wilcox

David Cathie

Russell McKechnie

Barbara Abbot

P Boardman Eday

Deirdre Graham

Debbie Downie

Alan Fowler

Christopher Bowen

Neil Urquhart

Sarah Thomson

Dunbeath and Berriedale community say NO to PYLONS

Dunbeath and Berriedale community say NO to PYLONS

Still £7,668 to go. Help us build momentum.