Land dispute hearing is to start

A long-running feud between a Perthshire landowner and a power company is set to be aired at a special one-day hearing in Perth next week.

Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC appealed to the government last year to let it keep a 275kV line it has passing over land near Bertha Park Farm in place after the landowner asked for it to be pulled down.

Andrew Ritchie, of A Ritchie and Sons, wrote to the company two years ago requesting the line be taken down but Scottish Hydro insisted it was “vital”to the network and asked the government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) for what is known as“necessary wayleave”to keep it up.

In correspondence posted on the DPEA’s website Mr Ritchie claimed the line“crosses through the middle of land”where developer Springfield Properties has consent to build 3000 new homes and was“sterilising a large corridor of prime development land’”.

Scottish Hydro’s John Hillis said in response to these claims the company was trying to negotiate with Mr Ritchie but with the two still apparently at loggerheads a government reporter will now hear both their claims at a special hearing in the Kensington Suite at Perth’s Queens Hotel on Monday starting at 10am.

Meanwhile another three appeals to protect pylons west of Perth a housebuilder wants Scottish Hydro to scrap are still on hold as negotiations seemingly continue behind-the-scenes.

Hermiston Securities Limited, a part of the Muir Group, had asked Scottish Hydro to remove pylons on land west of Glendevon Farm and the children’s activity centre Noah’s Ark and the power company again had to appeal to the Scottish Government for “necessary wayleave”.

It is understood the Muir Group is still interested in building homes west of Glendevon Farm after taking part in the“Perth West Charrette’”– a series of public meetings held at Perth’s Huntingtower Hotel several years ago which resulted in a“Perth West Development Framework”being produced.