Highland councillors are being urged to formally oppose plans for a huge new 173km electricity transmission line featuring pylons averaging around 57 metres in height.
Council planning officers have recommended an objection to SSEN Transmission’s proposed Spittal to Beauly 400kV overhead line ahead of a joint meeting of Highland Council’s North and South Planning Applications Committees.
The vast infrastructure project would run from Spittal in Caithness to Fanellan, near Beauly, passing through the Loch Buidhe area and crossing seven Highland Council wards.
It would involve a new 400kV overhead transmission line supported predominantly by steel lattice towers.
The pylons would average around 57 metres high and would generally be positioned approximately 350 metres apart.
When diversions and alterations to existing transmission lines are included, council planners say the development would result in approximately 191km of new overhead line infrastructure across the Highlands.
Construction is expected to take around four years.
The project forms part of a much wider expansion of Scotland’s electricity transmission network designed to accommodate the rapid growth in renewable energy generation.
SSEN Transmission says the Spittal to Beauly line is needed to transport increasing quantities of renewable electricity and strengthen the network as Britain moves towards a cleaner energy system.
The scale of the proposals has generated significant opposition in communities along the route.
A newly published Highland Council planning report recommends councillors “raise objection” to the development.
Officers raise concerns about a range of issues including landscape and visual impact, ecology and cultural heritage.
The council report also questions whether significant associated elements of the development have been adequately assessed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment process.
These include borrow pits used to provide construction materials, temporary construction compounds and modifications to parts of the electricity distribution network.
Officers conclude there is a reasonable basis to argue that Environmental Impact Assessment requirements have not been fully satisfied.
The final decision on whether the transmission line can be built does not rest with Highland Council.
Due to the scale and nature of the project, the application is being considered under Section 37 of the Electricity Act and will ultimately be determined by Scottish Ministers.
Highland Council previously lodged an officer-level objection to the proposals in October 2025.
The forthcoming joint committee meeting will allow councillors to establish the council’s substantive position and the grounds it intends to pursue as the planning process continues.
A public local inquiry into the project is already being organised, with hearing sessions expected to take place between 23 November and 18 December.
The proposed Spittal to Beauly connection has become one of the most contentious elements of the expansion of Scotland’s electricity grid.
SSEN Transmission is pursuing billions of pounds of investment across the north of Scotland as new wind farms and other renewable projects require significantly greater capacity to transport electricity south.
The company has previously said the new line is critical national infrastructure and that substantial work has been carried out to reduce its impact on communities and the environment.
Highland councillors will consider the planning officers’ recommendation at the joint meeting of the North and South Planning Applications Committees on 9 and 10 September.