Government to resolve Perthshire power row

BERTHA PARK: Landowners want pylons removed at site of £1 billion village plan

The Scottish Government will resolve a power struggle at the site of a new £1 billion village on the edge of Perth.

Energy giant SSE and landowners are at loggerheads over electricity pylons which run through the Bertha Park plot. The land is earmarked for 3,000 new homes, retail, health facilities and a new secondary school.

Businessman Andrew Ritchie, the site’s owner, wants SSE to remove the overhead line because it “sterilises” prime development land and reduces value of an adjacent site.

SSE is refusing to dismantle the towers, arguing that they are “vital” for the north of Scotland’s transmission network.

Now Scottish ministers have called a public inquiry to settle the dispute.

Energy giant SSE is refusing to remove powerlines from Perthshire farmland earmarked for a £1 billion housing estate.

Landowners have demanded that the company dismantle six pylons at Bertha Park on the northern edge of Perth.

Springfield Properties has secured planning permission to transform the 822-acre site into a new village with 3,000 homes, retail, health services and a new secondary school.

The land’s owner, Andrew Ritchie, has told SSE that the overhead line “is sterilising a large corridor of prime development land and is reducing the value of the adjacent land.”

But SSE argue that the pylons are “vital to the continued economic and efficient transmission network in the north of Scotland”.

Now the Scottish Government has called a public inquiry to settle the power struggle once and for all.

Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission, the SSE department responsible for maintaining the country’s powerline network, has applied to government ministers for a wayleave which, if approved, would allow the pylons to stay in place for another 50 years.

A spokeswoman said: “Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc has made an application to Scottish ministers under the Electricity Act 1989 for a necessary wayleave to retain the existing 275kV transmission line on land at Bertha Park.

“This application was lodged in response to a formal request from the landlord, Andrew Ritchie, to remove the transmission line from his property.

“Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc’s application will be heard by a reporter appointed by the Scottish ministers later this year.”

Agents for Mr Ritchie have confirmed that he wants to be heard on the issue, triggering the need for a full hearing.

Case officer Liz Kerr, of the government’s planning and environmental appeals division, confirmed that a report will be appointed to conduct the hearing and report back to Scottish ministers, who will in turn make a final decision.

A date has yet to be set for the inquiry, but both sides have been asked to lodge documents backing up their arguments before the end of the month.

Springfield Properties said the row is unlikely to impact work on the new estate, which is scheduled to begin this year.

Councillors gave unanimous backing to the first stage of the Bertha Park project in June last year.

Phase one includes 1,060 of the overall site’s 3,000 homes. Construction is expected to last for 10 years.

There were no objections to the planning application, but local community councillors raised concerns about emergency access and a history of flooding problems.

The entire Bertha Park project – described as a “Springfield Village” – will create more than 2,000 jobs and is expected to deal with a forecast population boom.

This application was lodged in response to a formal request from the landlord, Andrew Ritchie

The pylons stretching across the land at Bertha Park.