About us

Deeside Against Pylons is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of this generation and future generations.

SSEN, a private company owned in part by a Canadian pension fund and parent company, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), itself over 50% owned by institutional investors, who have but one intent – to make their shareholders richer.

 

SSEN is currently proposing a catastrophic 106 km corridor of monstrous 70 metre high pylons (twice the height of standard towers and twice the height of Balmoral Castle for reference) from Kintore, a thriving ancient town built on a Roman camp but which has been a settlement since prehistoric times to Tealing, a picturesque village in Angus nestled in the Sidlaw Hills 6 miles north of Dundee.  This devastating project is part of a larger, even more ill-conceived plan to erect 1500 pylons from the north to the south of Scotland masquerading as a way to mitigate climate change and reach Net Zero.

 

In effect, destroying the environment to save the environment.

Deeside Against Pylons is determined to represent local communities impacted by this proposal to ensure that their voice is heard and that authorities deciding on the proposals are well aware of the visual, health and environmental impact of such a development.

Deeside Against Pylons along with other action groups and the communities we all represent are fully behind renewable energy and attaining Net Zero but from tireless information gathering and research we know this is NOT the way.  There ARE alternatives.

SSEN hide behind a claim that this proposal is a mandate from National Grid.  Also an internationally owned private company with major shareholders in the US, Norway and Abu Dhabi. Also, with one intent – to make its shareholders richer.

 

This Kintore to Tealing 400 kv transmission line is not in the Holistic Network Design (HND) and not mandated by National Grid.  What was mandated was an “upgrade and reinforcement  to existing pylon lines”.  This is simply a hastily constructed, profit-driven SSEN instigated project that will irrevocably desecrate our beautiful, world-renowned landscape (it was thought that over 4 billion people around the world watched the Queen make her last journey through this very countryside and expect it to be this way when they visit), harm our and our children’s health, has already given rise to mental health issues within the communities impacted, will, in effect, end tourism, destroy all manner of unique and wonderful flora and fauna forever and lose the Scottish economy millions in house values.

SSEN’s consultation process has been derisory at best, patronising, unprofessional, contemptuous and bullying at worst. A “public” meeting was held with no opportunity for Q&A from the floor, no media presence, questions sanitised and submitted in advance, scripted responses which did not answer basic questions such as, “Why do the pylons need to be so high?” and a blatant and erroneous attempt to deny scientific evidence that links proximity to Electro Magnetic Fields (EMFs) to childhood leukaemia.  The route encompasses three primary schools.

Their narrative in correspondence is, “This is the route”.  Consultation is merely to refine the project as to the location of the monster pylons.

No application from SSEN has been submitted yet their construction contractors are already making representation to farmers and landowners to mark out sites on their land, “telling” them their roads and tracks will be widened to accommodate plant and re-routing the line at a whim as they haphazardly discover stumbling blocks due to surveying ineptitude.

It is ironic that this is happening in a part of the world steeped in offshore/energy/engineering innovation and expertise yet we are expected to submit to archaic infrastructure on a route littered with constraints and obstacles that will bring these pylons closer and ever closer to properties and people.

Deeside Against Pylons, Save our Mearns and Leylodge Against Industrialisation are fighting energy tyranny channelled from a regulator (OFGEM) and a government who are exploiting us and our resources in the cruellest manner – with big business, profit and incompetence.

There is an ever-burgeoning groundswell of support to halt sanctioned nationwide vandalism. 

                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                          Join it now and stop it!