NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Use 13 January 2010a SNP GOVERNMENT DECEIT IN POWERLINE DECISION It has been revealed that the SNP Government rejected recommendations by the Reporter into Beauly to Denny Public Inquiry to re-route the proposed power line in parts of Perthshire and Stirlingshire. Mid-Scotland & Fife Conservative MSPs Murdo Fraser and Liz Smith have demanded that the SNP Government release all the documents and a full explanation that led the SNP Minister to reject the original recommendation. The Reporter recommended that the overhead power line should not be approved at a section near Auchilhanzie House, Crieff, and at a section near Glenside, Plean. Instead of accepting the recommendation, the SNP Government announced that they had asked for measures to mitigate as far as possible the visual impact of the line at these sections Commenting, Murdo Fraser said: “The SNP Government overruled the recommendation by the Reporters of the Beauly to Denny Public Inquiry to refuse planning permission to build the overhead pylons at sections near Crieff in Perthshire and Plean in Stirlingshire. “It seems that the SNP Government has misled Parliament on this matter as the Ministerial Statement last week gave the impression that SNP Ministers had gone further than the Reporter’s recommendations when in fact it was the opposite. The SNP Government must come clean on the Beauly to Denny power line decision and reveal all the advice it had taken when deciding to reject the official recommendation by the Reporter. “Communities in Perthshire and Stirlingshire had no chance against the developer when SNP Ministers were even rejecting official recommendations by the Inquiry Reporter and pushing ahead with the overhead giant pylons. “After this debacle, the SNP Government must stipulate to Scottish & Southern Energy that undergrounding or re-routing is required in parts of Perthshire and Stirlingshire as the original recommendations at these sections were against the overhead pylons.” Liz Smith MSP said: “The whole process of reaching this decision has been marred by the totally confused approach taken by the SNP Government. What SNP Ministers describe as "stringent mitigation requirements" don't look to be worth the paper they are written on as the permission given by SNP Ministers is for an overhead line all the way from Beauly to Denny. “The SNP Government has, to date, completely failed to provide any details for the "mitigations" including those relevant to Strathearn. We still have no idea what he means nor do we have any accurate information about the timescales involved or whether any further planning permission will be required. “It is now vital that local people are given clarity regarding the details of all the "mitigations" and that Ministers clear up the ongoing uncertainties which the Scottish Government have created.” ENDS   back to top of page