Our response to the proposed Spittal - Loch Buidhe - Beauly 400kV overhead line

On Wednesday 15 April 2026, we issued a response to a consultation on some additional environmental information which we asked for in our response of 6 October. The additional information was helpful in clarifying the impacts of the proposed development. We have now withdrawn our objection to three of the twenty-eight scheduled monuments that we had objected to and were able to provide more detailed comments on seven of those monuments. We were also able to withdraw our objection to the impacts on the Fairburn Inventory Garden and Designed Landscape.

The proposed Spittal - Loch Buidhe - Beauly 400kV overhead line is a National Development as set out in Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), which means the need for the project has been established. The north of Scotland is generating increasing volumes of renewable energy, and capacity in the transmission network must be increased to meet this demand. 

However, the current proposal would have significant adverse impacts on the integrity of the setting of 28 scheduled monuments. HES has concluded that the Environmental Impact Assessment Report does not provide sufficient evidence that the impacts of the proposal on the historic environment have been taken into account fully in the design process. HES is therefore objecting to the proposal in its current state. 

HES recommends that SSEN undertakes further work to produce appropriate visualisations for a number of scheduled monuments and some additional assessment of impacts on the Fairburn Inventory Garden and Designed Landscape. This information will help to clarify the level of impacts on the historic environment. 

HES’s role as a consultee on any such development proposal is solely restricted to commenting on historic environment matters with any application considered on its own merits and in accordance with Scottish Government policy. HES will also consider the proposals in accordance with the Historic Environment Policy for Scotland and its own guidance on Managing Change in the Historic Environment, which is available on the HES website. 

To read the full response please visit the Scottish Government website.

We're the lead body for Scotland’s historic environment, a charity dedicated to the advancement of heritage, culture, education and environmental protection. We are at the forefront of researching and understanding the historic environment and addressing the impacts of climate change on its future. Across Scotland, we investigate and record architectural and archaeological sites and landscapes and care for more than 300 properties of national importance. HES is also working with sector partners to deliver Scotland's strategy for the historic environment, Our Past, Our Future.

Historic Scotland, trove.scot, The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP), The Engine Shed, Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle and Stòr are sub-brands of HES.

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