Whose power line is it anyway!
TV’s Clive joins protest against pylon plans
TV and radio personality Clive Anderson is backing protests against plans for 52 electricity pylons near his Scots holiday cottage.
The pylons in the village of Dalmally, Argyll, would be only feet away from his property if plans get the go-ahead.
The Whose Line Is It Anyway? star has asked No More Pylons for Dalmally campaigners to keep him informed.
Villagers say power developer Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) cannot justify the move.
Co-lead campaigner Julian Penney said the community refused to be ‘treated like mushrooms’ by being kept in the dark.
Mr Penney said SSEN’s case for the pylons was ‘not stacking up’ and residents would do everything in their power to save their dramatic scenery from being ruined.
There are also serious health concerns, he said, as the new pylons would be adding to 29 already in place.
Speaking to The Oban Times, he said: ‘They think they are dealing with a load of banjo players in the hills but this campaign is going forward. We are rallying the troops and looking at all avenues to escalate our action.
‘Clive Anderson has a holiday home near here and if the pylons go ahead, one would be about 150ft away from it. He’s not pleased about it and has asked to be kept in the loop.
‘SSEN will have to put in a planning application but when they do, it’s going to be tough to get it through. It will have to go through the Scottish Government’s energy minister.
‘They are not going to allow pylons across this landscape. There are nine projects across the UK where power companies and the National Grid are taking down pylons and putting cables underground – Exmoor, Dartmoor and the Lake District. Only 17 miles away in the Loch Lomond National Park they are taking down 17 pylons.
‘We might not be in a national park here but our vista, the scenery, is just as dramatic.’
Brexit Minister Michael Russell is backing the campaign and has told SSEN that if it wants new power lines, then the cables should go underground.
However, Mr Penney said: ‘Their advisors are saying under Loch Awe is too shallow. That’s complete rubbish. It is doable. I’ve asked them who are their consultants but they have cut off all communication. I don’t even know if the table-top exercise they’ve done exists at all.’
An SSEN spokesman said its underground cabling options were still being assessed and a proposed final solution had not yet been determined.
He added: ‘We remain committed to engaging openly with the community, elected representatives and other stakeholders as we take forward the project.’
Mr Anderson is best known for hosting a number of radio programmes, and has made appearances on Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and QI.
He lives in Highbury, north London, with his wife, Jane, and three children.
Mr Anderson revealed in 2012 that he was a Rangers fan and that he was first taken to Ibrox by his father for an Old Firm derby in the 1960s, while on holiday at his grandparents’ home on Bute.
The campaign against the pylons in Dalmally echoes that of the Beauly to Denny line that became operational in 2015.
The power line is said to be the highest transmission line in the UK, crossing the Corrieyairack Pass at more than 2,500ft above sea level, as well as one of the longest.
‘Community kept in the dark like mushrooms’