A North East farming family say their arable farm will be ‘destroyed’ if plans for a 120 acre substation goes ahead and have vowed to fight the move “all the way”.

The substation is part of The Kintore-Fiddes-Tealing 400kV overhead line project - a component of a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain which energy giant SSEN says is required to meet UK and Scottish Government climate change and energy security targets.

However, Shona Alexander from Upper Pitforthie, Stonehaven says she is facing a third of their 338 acre farm being compulsory purchased for a substation plus more land taken for access roads and pylons.

Mrs Alexander said: “The farm has been in the family for 61 years and my husband was born in the farmhouse.

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“We have heard that the proposals are for a substation to be just metres away from our home. Whilst we are not being told anything official, we are also hearing that at meetings that our farm is the only appropriate site for the substation.

“We will fight it all the way to save our farm and home, if it goes to compulsory purchase, we are looking at between £10,000 and £20,000 in legal fees, and if we lose only get market value for the land.”

She goes on to say: “We don’t want to move as my husband John is looking to wind down in the next ten years and doesn’t want to start again on a new farm which would likely be some distance away.

“We also have my grandson living with us who has just started at nursery and we don’t want to unsettle him either by moving.

“As it stands, we are in limbo and have put a halt to investing in the farm until we know where we will be in the future. It is having a huge toll on our mental health, I can’t sleep at night.”

SSEN Transmission say the Kintore-Fiddes-Tealing 400kV project is still in the early stages of development, and no final decisions on route alignments or substation locations have been made. The firm added it is actively seeking the input of farmers and landowners to help inform the design of potential overhead line route and substation options.

A spokesperson said: “Once we progress to the development of potential route alignments, which is not expected until the end of the year at the earliest, we will work with those impacted to minimise and mitigate potential impacts on farming operations.

“Where there may be a requirement for us to purchase land for our infrastructure, every attempt will be made to reach agreement on a voluntary basis and it is only as an absolute last resort, when all other options have been exhausted, will we consider using our statutory Compulsory Purchase Order powers.

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“It is important to reiterate that the project remains in the early stages of development and no specific overhead line route alignments have been identified.”

Clive Meikle, Head of Grid and Infrastructure at Bidwells said the scale of the developments is “moving at a formidable pace” and said early discussions between SSE and affected landowners is essential.

“Bidwells is working with a number of landowners affected by potential substation sites across Scotland, including various sites in Aberdeenshire, and it is clear from our experience that an open dialogue and clear lines of communication can bring significant benefit.

“Farmland is often occupied on a generational basis, and farmers have intimate knowledge of the land and the surrounding countryside.

“This invaluable information and experience will be beneficial to SSE and any other developer of electricity apparatus. If that knowledge and experience about the land itself - and the way it is farmed - can be shared, there is a better chance of substation sites and overhead line routes being identified where the impact is at an acceptable level.

“Few, if any, farmers will welcome this sort of external intervention, but we find the impact can be lessened when the right site is selected.

“Our experience has been that an open dialogue, formation of positive relationships and clear lines of communications from an early stage have been instrumental in making sure that landowners are fully up-to-speed with what faces them and ensuring that their interests are fully understood and accounted for as part of the development process.”

Feedback on the project proposals is open until Friday 23 June.