“Absolute disbelief” has been expressed after it emerged the fate of a controversial Mearns substation will be decided by Scottish Ministers, after local councillors threw it out.
SSEN Transmission’s plans to connect its high-voltage pylon route at Fetteresso Forest, near Stonehaven, were refused after a seven-hour meeting of Aberdeenshire Council in January.
The energy giant appealed in March, claiming the site is needed to support major electricity grid upgrades and will be critical to the north east’s economic future.
Scottish Ministers have now called in the appeal after it was assigned to a Reporter from the Division for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA).
But a new development in case law may influence that decision — or leave it open to appeal.
DPEA reporter Alasdair Edwards has asked SSEN’s legal team whether Hurlie and the pylon route are one project for the purposes of environmental impact assessment (EIA).
He asked about the implications of a recent Court of Session decision near Heriot in the Borders — Raeshaw Farms Ltd v Scottish Ministers and Energiekontor (2026) CSIH 10.
The inner house ruled that “salami slicing” or splitting an eight-turbine windfarm project into smaller parts, to avoid a comprehensive EIA, is unlawful.
A founder and former campaigner with Save Our Mearns, Tracey Smith is a local councillor and the Scottish Conservative candidate for Angus North and Mearns in Thursday’s election.
She said:
“This was a thorough local democratic exercise that rigorously went through all the pros and cons. There were very passionate and well-researched representations on both sides.
“More than 2,000 objections were made to Hurlie, one of the vital strategic points carrying the 400kV overland cables from Kintore to Tealing.
“Although I am filled with absolute disbelief that Scottish Ministers have called this in, they have to ultimately answer to the public.
“Recent developments could also have a major bearing on the outcome.
“The Raeshaw case law has to be weighed up by policymakers in Edinburgh, who won’t want to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds taking on their own citizens.
“The concept of salami slicing these developments to get them through is the entire modus operandi of Kintore to Tealing, Beauly to Peterhead and so on.
“There is a lot that people in the Mearns and the wider North East can do about this now. Local democracy matters – the previous plans at Fiddes were scrapped after vocal opposition.
In Case You Missed it:
“I will take this fight to Holyrood.”
An update on the DPEA site notes: “Scottish Ministers have decided that they will determine this case, and a direction to that effect is available on the DPEA website. The appointed reporter will now prepare a report with recommendations for Ministers.”
