Fossoway & District Community Council held a meeting on 6th December where several points were raised regarding the upgrade of this power line. The Community Council Secretary has been in touch with the company carrying out the works to seek clarification. The answers are provided below:

Question:
The Community Council reported at the meeting that the pylons were already suitable for 400kV transmission lines, and that they did not need replacing, only the insulators needed to be replaced. Several members of the public stated that this was not the case, and that pylons would also have to be upgraded. Can you clarify what the situation is please?

Answer:
I can confirm that the existing towers will remain in situ and will not require to be changed in either height or location. The only exception to this is within the Kincardine power station site where two existing towers are to be removed and replaced with a new terminal tower to tie the line into the proposed substation. The existing towers on the remainder of the line are of a specification that can be used for either 275kV or 400kV lines.

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Question:
The public were also very concerned about the mess that is made in fields etc. during the period when this work is being carried out. Can you let us know what assurance you can give that the land will be reinstated to a reasonable level?

Answer:
Access to towers and the working area around each tower are the most susceptible to ground disturbance during the works. To what degree these areas are disturbed is obviously dependent on local ground conditions and the weather conditions at the time the work is undertaken however this can be mitigated by planning the timing of the work and agreeing the most appropriate access routes with affected landowners. In addition, the contractor responsible for undertaking the work will be required to work to an agreed construction method statement and environmental management plan that governs the mitigation required to avoid, reduce and offset disturbance to people and the environment during the works. Reinstatement work will be agreed with landowners/stakeholders (such as local authorities) and undertaken by the contractor following completion of the work.

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Question:
Are the landowners compensated at all for any inconvenience and loss of business during the period when the work is being carried out?

Answer:
Affected landowners will be compensated for any losses sustained as a result of our work. The Wayleave Officer will have initial discussions with all landowners involved to inform them of the overall proposal and to agree access routes etc. over their respective land. On completion of the project the Wayleave Officer will then arrange a further meeting with the landowners to discuss and agree the level of compensation. Should any planned outages, that would affect any electricity supplies to individual properties, be required as part of these works then residents would be formally notified of the time and duration of these works in advance.