‘How long before we are forced out of our homes?’ Residents face ‘major anxiety’ over Banniskirk Hub
Residents are suffering “major anxiety” over the huge Banniskirk Hub substation scheme and fear they could be forced from their homes if it goes ahead.
Issues of noise disturbance, visual impact, increased flooding risk, environmental harm, reduction in property prices, damage to mental health and even the danger of terrorism were aired at a meeting in Halkirk, with one speaker warning: “This will change our landscape and rural way of life beyond recognition.”
Concerns were raised about a “tsunami” of developments, amid assertions that Caithness has already “done its bit” for renewable energy generation and that extra capacity is not needed.
Wednesday’s extraordinary general meeting of Halkirk District Community Council attracted a packed audience to the Ross Institute, including six of the county’s eight Highland Council members.
SSEN Transmission submitted a planning application to Highland Council in November for a 400kV substation and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station.
If it goes ahead, Banniskirk Hub will connect to the proposed 400kV overhead line between Spittal and Beauly and to the existing Spittal 275kV substation. It will include a new outdoor 400kV air insulated switchgear (AIS) substation and an HVDC converter station that will help transport offshore renewable energy to “demand centres” throughout the UK.
The site is defined as 360m north-east of Achalone Cottage, near Halkirk.
Edith Budge gave an impassioned address to the meeting on behalf of Achalone residents. She also showed slides setting out the scale of proposed developments in the immediate area, including substations linked to the West of Orkney and Ayre offshore wind farms on top of the existing Spittal 275kV substation.
She noted the Spittal/Beauly 400kV pylon line through the north Highlands and the Spittal/Peterhead subsea link, as well as cable tracks for the West of Orkney and Ayre projects extending across the county from the north coast and east coast respectively.
“In a distance of around one-and-a-half miles as the crow flies we’re going to have four substations,” Ms Budge said. “Does anyone think this is acceptable?”
She warned that the SSEN Transmission scheme would lead to “a plethora of applications” and said: “We don’t need this additional proposed infrastructure. As a county we already produce more than is required.”
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Ms Budge also referred to speculation that a workers’ camp could be established to accommodate an incoming construction workforce.
The SSEN Transmission response can be seen here.
Ms Budge said: “We have people who have lived here all of their lives, people who have built up their businesses over multiple decades, people who have built up their croft over more than two-and-a-half decades, families have moved here to bring their children up in this rural environment with the open spaces and the lifestyle it brings. Couples have moved here to get away from industrialisation and enjoy retirement in this rural lifestyle.
“We are fully aware that we need to protect the environment, making a decent future for our children and our grandchildren, but is this the legacy we really wish to leave for them? This industrialised area that’s surrounding us?
“These projects do not come alone. This will change our landscape and rural way of life beyond recognition, and not just our lives but every home along the way in the wake of this tsunami of applications.
“As people being impacted directly by this project, we should be seen as stakeholders by these developers, but engagement with us has been pretty much non-existent.
“As rural communities we are easy targets to these big companies with little power to be heard, and when our own government doesn’t even have our corner it’s heartbreaking for us.”
Ms Budge showed images taken on Hogmanay of flooding in the area close to the Banniskirk Hub site after heavy rainfall, adding: “This is before any construction has taken place, removing natural ground and replacing it with concrete hardstanding.
“This is something SSEN will not care about as long as it’s not affecting their specific site.”
She went on: “This is impacting the emotional and mental health of numerous residents. We chose this rural location for our homes for the lifestyle it brings – people who don’t live in this environment maybe don’t fully understand or appreciate how we feel about it.
“The children who live in this area will know only construction for the rest of their childhood.
“This is causing major anxiety. These developers really do not care about the people being impacted – we are just casualties of the cause to them.
“With such a large, complex development there will be noise and vibration from construction which will include blasting and breakers along with general noise from plant machinery.
“We’ve got two households that have residents who are shift workers. One of these households is directly across the road from the boundary of this site and another one is about 400m away.
“That’s four individuals in total. They work for the emergency services and the NHS, and they need them to be fully alert to carry out their jobs safely. But the noise from this construction will definitely impact their rest and sleep time.”
“One family who moved here to enjoy the rural lifestyle have a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and autism. They have seen a significant improvement since moving to the area.
“Noises and vibrations along with other sensory issues can have an adverse effect on him, but the impact of this construction will be unknown until this commences.
“Our roads infrastructure is in an already fragile state. The volume of traffic will only further this destruction.”
Ms Budge warned of the threat to businesses such as the riding school at Achalone Activities and she was also worried about a fire risk.
She asked: “Does our fire service even have the capability to deal with an event should the worst happen within this infrastructure?”
On the possible threat from energy security terrorism, Ms Budge said: “It does exist in our modern world. This is also a concern.
“If someone wished to take out this major infrastructure with minimum effort and maximum impact, we’re going to be sitting in the middle of all of that.”
Ms Budge warned that wildlife would be driven out of its natural habitat, while trees would be cut down and peat dug up.
Highland Council has an action plan on addressing depopulation, she said. “But in the county of Caithness it just feels like we’re having a modern-day Highland Clearance with all the infrastructure that is being scoped, planned and approved, chasing rural residents from the area. Are we going to be evicted from where we are?
“The construction of this 400kV substation, the ‘hub’ as they class it, is just the beginning. How long before we are forced out of our homes because we stand in the way of this progression and expansion?”
