First it was forestry, then it was wind turbines, now it's massive great electricity pylons. The Ochils are under siege and Robin Kelsall outlines the latest threatened blight on the landscape.
WELL, WELL, the chickens are fairly coming home to roost. With justification, we've been going on at considerable length about windfarms and their potential impact on our countryside in general and the Ochils in particular. Now we're faced with a new threat in the shape of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and its proposal to upgrade massively the pylon-supported power-line at present carrying electricity from Beauly to Denny via the western flank of Dumyat. And the purpose of this upgrade? To link up with and distribute the intermittent electricity which might be produced by windfarms to the far north and west of us - very many of which are still little more than a hopeful gleam in a developer's/landowner's eye.
The powerline in question presently carries 132kV (132,000 volts) of power on 25-metre-high pylons and, on reaching Denny, it presumably heads south (doesn't everything?) via other lines of the national grid. It was built in the early 1950s (I watched it taking shape) to facilitate the distribution of the new hydroelectricity, but I can't remember whether adults of the time were aghast at the idea of this skeletal intrusion on the landscape. Certainly, there were pretty mixed emotions about flooding so many northern glens in order to produce the electricity in the first place, but the pylons themselves? Not sure.
Of course, things were different 50 years ago. It wasn't long after the war and there was a recognition that changes were necessary if Britain was to get on her feet again. Added to this there was a dearth of dedicated planning bodies, and environmental concerns were very few and very far between. As it turned out, the route-planners made a pretty decent fist of things by ensuring that the Ochil escarpment would be breached at a point where there is abundant tree cover - at Airthrey Wood - thus anticipating one of the "Holford Rules" by several years. (The late Lord Holford, Professor of Town Planning at University College, London, formulated the broad principles for overhead transmission routeing circa 1959. They have been accepted as the yardstick for the electricity transmission industry ever since.)
So, will SSE not just follow the existing route? (Another Holford rule suggests they ought.) Yes for 75% of the way, and No for the rest. Unfortunately, the western flank of Dumyat comes into the No category.
Because these pylons will be 45-50 metres high (twice the height of the present ones) and capable of carrying 400kV - a huge increase in every way - SSE claims that the new line will have to be constructed at a distance of 50 metres from the existing (and still live) line for safety's sake. In addition, because of the increased electromagnetic field (EMF) surrounding this pumped-up line, SSE has deemed it necessary to bypass any dwellings by a minimum of 100 metres - this despite the informed opinion of an industry insider that the EMF will dissipate to negligible proportions within 50 metres. In this way, Broomhill (on the old Logie road up to Sheriffmuir), Witches Craig caravan park, Logie Villa and Powis House and its lodge are all to be given a very wide berth, and this can only be done by positioning the new line well to the east of the existing one.
So, SSE plans to have these huge pylons bursting out of the admittedly skimpy cover of Airthrey Wood and on to the exposed and highly visible western flank of Dumyat, striding down the bare hillside and crossing the A91 at a point halfway between Blairlogie and Witches Craig caravan park before marching over the flat and equally exposed carse land beyond. When you get your breath back, just think "views". Views from Stirling Castle, from the Wallace Monument, from the B998 heading for Logie, from the comfort of the Coffee Bothy (at Blairmains farm shop), from the walk across to Dumyat, from Dumyat itself and from most points west, east and especially south.
Can anything be done about it? Well, by the time you read this, SSE's deadline for responses (19 March) will be well past. But, fear not, your committee - along with many others - has written to express its total opposition to the proposed deviation, suggesting instead that SSE should stick by Holford and follow the present line. (They can do it; it would just be a wee bit more expensive.) Of course, despite SSE's arbitrary deadline, this thing will run for some time to come, so you can still lobby your MP, MSP, local councillor and anyone else you can think of. You can even write a letter to this newsletter for publication in the autumn edition.
And here's a final thought. SSE's preferred route, the one I've been describing, is code-named "d2", but there's also a "d1". This marches down from Braco, goes between Doune and Dunblane, continues to the west of Stirling and climbs between Gillies Hill and the Touch Hills before reaching Denny. SSE rejected it because of "...the effect on the more rural landscape west of Stirling...", and cited the following as two of the "key visual issues" leading to the rejection: (a) visibility from the M9 and (b) the village of Kinbuck. Why a bunch of drivers and their passengers, fleein' along an over-fast motorway, should be looked on more favourably than the much-loved, much-admired, much-photographed western flank of Dumyat is beyond me. And, as for Kinbuck... OK, the setting's fine, but it doesn't have much else going for it. Blairlogie (predominantly 18th century, officially designated an Outstanding Conservation Area) wasn't even mentioned in SSE's assessment of "key visual issues" affecting d2. Their preferred route will bring these monstrous pylons to within a couple of hundred metres of Blairlogie's western edge.
Further details of the proposals can be found at http://www.scottish-southern.co.uk/ - and there's a protest website at http://www.braco-pylons.co.uk/
There's also likely to be a concerned-about-windfarms candidate standing for the Scottish constituency in the forthcoming European elections - see http://www.saveourhills.org/