Protest held against route of upgrade power line

A protest against an upgraded powerline route near Starthpeffer was held in the village on Monday

A protest has been held against the planned route of an upgraded electricity power line in the Highlands.

About 30 people held a demonstration during a consultation event in Strathpeffer by energy firm SSEN Transmission on Monday.

SSEN Transmission said the upgrade was needed for connecting power generated by renewable schemes in the north of Scotland with consumers across the UK.

But campaign group Strathpeffer and Contin Better Cable Route claimed the firm had not listened to its concerns.

SSEN Transmission plans to upgrade an overhead line near Spittal in Caithness to near Beauly, about 12 miles (19km) west of Inverness.

The total length of the line is about 106 miles (170km) and it would be carried by steel towers of an average height of about 57m (187ft).

The campaign's Dan Bailey said the proposed route would take the line through woodland at Contin and near the historic village of Strathpeffer.

He said: "We have been trying to engage constructively with this company as a community for the last two years to come up with a solution to routing in an area that would be acceptable to more people.

"It seems that has fallen on deaf ears.

"They could hardly have chosen a worse route."

Dan Bailey accused SSEN Transmission of not listening to local concerns

An SSEN Transmission spokesperson said the upgrade would help to deliver clean power and improve energy security.

A spokesperson said: "These projects will also alleviate grid constraints and be the catalyst for economic growth across the north of Scotland, adding billions of value to the economy and supporting tens of thousands of jobs.

"The need for these projects has been independently assessed and recommended by the National Energy System Operator, have been approved by the independent energy regulator, Ofgem, and fully endorsed by the UK government as part of its Clean Power Action Plan."