Pylons legal battle fails

A LENGTHY legal battle against a controversial pylons scheme in Galloway has ended in defeat.

The Kendoon to Tongland scheme was given the green light at a public inquiry last year, despite hundreds of objections from residents and the government’s own reporters recommending refusal.

The 27-mile long pylon scheme will stretch from the Kendoon substation, through Galloway Forest Park to the Tongland substation near Kirkcudbright.

Ministers decided that protecting energy supplies for about 30,000 residents meant the project should proceed as the current network was constructed in the 1930s and is considered to be at the end of its life.

Since its approval, pressure group Galloway Without Pylons (GWP) has been locked in a lengthy legal battle to overturn the decision. But this week a judge in the Court of Session ruled that they failed to identify any evidence or representations which it claimed had been ‘overlooked’.

GWP contested that the decision ‘fails to provide proper, adequate and intelligible reasons’ as to why they departed from the reporters’ recommendations.

Outlining his decision, Lord Lake wrote: “It is regrettable that the proposed development will result in the loss of a significant area of irreplaceable woodland. Scottish Ministers have attached conditions to the consent requiring a woodland planting strategy to address the loss of woodland, but it is accepted that this is an impact that cannot be fully mitigated.

“Scottish Ministers have given significant consideration to this impact but consider that the proposed development is both urgent, and necessary.

“The reporters’ decision arose from their conclusion that the greatest weight should be given to the adverse effects of the proposal on the natural environments and, in particular, the loss of designated woodland. It is apparent that in carrying out the balancing exercise, they have reduced the weight attached to the need for the development on the basis that SPT had not explored further less environmentally harmful alternatives to achieving the same end.

“The petitioner [GWP] does not identify any evidence or representations which it is claimed were overlooked. This makes it impossible to consider whether it was so obviously material that it required to be the subject of express consideration. It is relevant to stress, however, that the decision by the ministers differed from that of the reporters as a result of the weighing of the considerations rather than on what facts were found established.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson from SPEN welcomed the decision of the court, adding: “Our Kendoon to Tongland project will replace a line that’s over 80 years old, improving the security of supply to thousands of homes and businesses, including hospitals and schools, in the region.

“Scotland’s energy security will also be boosted by the project, helping to create more space on the network for new, green home-grown electricity to connect into the grid.”