Rural Affairs and Islands Committee 19 November 2025 [Draft]
I will speak to amendment 172 and others in the group in my name. Our natural environment is under attack by something that we are choosing to do under the banner of clean energy. It is the biggest greenwashing campaign that there has been, and we must listen to campaign groups. I listen to their views and concerns every week, but it is shameful that they are met with a wall of silence from the devolved Government. This week, Angus Council objected to the Kintore to Tealing monster pylon routes and sent Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks homeward to think again about its plans. I hope that the Scottish Government will not ignore that view.
My amendments focus on the very real concerns of rural communities over the impact that monster pylons, battery storage and substations are having on them. The overindustrialisation is alarming, and the cumulative impact is often overlooked.
In the interests of time, I will speak broadly to all the amendments but will pick out specific points that overlap throughout my amendments. The committee will note the broad theme that runs through them, which is community consultation, transparency in decision making, alternative solutions to energy transmission and the protection of biodiversity.
Amendments 172 and 185 ask for clarity in ensuring that monster pylons are only one method of transmission that is explored and would require an exploration of the impact of electricity infrastructure on biodiversity. Pylons can have a huge impact on surrounding areas of distinct natural significance and plant life as well as disrupting local bird populations, and that needs to be fully understood before such projects can progress.
Amendment 193 calls for a statement to be published on an assessment of underground and subsea alternatives, looking at not only cost but biodiversity, net impact, resilience and landscape, and explaining any decision to proceed with overhead lines, should that be the decision that is taken. The amendment is vital to ensuring transparency and understanding for local communities and to giving them the confidence that all options have been considered and that the justification for decisions is open and understood by all. That does not happen at present.
Amendment 210 gives further protections to national parks in this area, designating them as no-go corridors for overhead lines.
11:15Amendment 306, which is the most substantial of my amendments, focuses on requirements on the planning authority to properly consult and take regard of the views of local communities. Clear approval must be sought and given for any transmission project that leads to significant community disruption or natural environmental impact. Those would include energy generation projects of more than 50MW, energy transmission projects, and large-scale battery storage systems. Applicants would have to provide a comparative assessment that covered life-cycle costs, biodiversity net impact, impact on local landscape, resilience, and impact on agriculture, soil and plant biosecurity.
Amendment 306 would also ensure that emergency planning was considered prior to permissions being given, with a requirement for an emergency plan and input from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Regulations would be subject to the affirmative procedure and would therefore come under the watchful scrutiny of MSPs, who, in turn, are accountable to their constituents and communities.
I will give the example of Rothienorman in the north-east of Scotland. Most members will not have heard of that place, but I believe that Rothienorman has six battery storage applications hanging over it, the largest of which is for 500MW. I have visited the site. It is huge, and it will change the landscape considerably. Local residents have genuine safety concerns. There has already been a fire at a smaller battery site in the area, and locals fear that something could happen at the larger site, leaving them vulnerable. We cannot leave emergency planning until after an event happens. Amendment 306 puts that emergency planning at the start.
Through my amendments, I hope to introduce scrutiny of and accountability for energy transmission projects, allowing communities, emergency planning services, local councils and the Parliament involvement with the on-going development of large infrastructure projects. My amendments would provide guarantees that communities are consulted and listened to, that national parks are protected, that biodiversity and the impact on plant life are measured and protected, and that all options are considered—not just monster pylons, by default, as the cheapest option.
We must ensure that energy infrastructure is fit for purpose, protects our natural environment and listens to our local community. My amendments would ensure that those protections are on the face of the bill, and I hope that the committee will support them.
I move amendment 172.