Farmers hold 'tractor run' in pylon protest

Aberdeenshire farmers have held a protest against proposals which would see a new network of electricity pylons run through part of the region.

SSEN's East Coast project includes plans for a new substation and overhead power lines between the villages of Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Tealing in Angus.

On Sunday, 25 farmers took their tractors along a 15-mile stretch of the proposed network, calling the plans "devastating".

SSEN said the work was necessary to meet climate change targets.

The "tractor run" travelled through Durris, Drumoak, Echt and Dunecht to Leylodge near Kintore, where a new substation is set to be built.

Supporters also lined part of the route.

Eileen West from the campaign group Deeside Against Pylons said it would be "difficult" for the farmers to work around the pylons.

She added: "They'll have to be very careful about their own safety, of their machinery going around them.

"They all turned up on a pretty grim day, the farmers are all behind on their crops, but for them to turn up on a day like this shows the appetite for protest."

Plans were overturned last year that would have seen the pylons located across land at the heart of the classic novel Sunset Song.

Residents in the area objected to the original plans on both environmental and cultural grounds.

In a statement SSEN Transmission said: "The Kintore-Tealing 400kV overhead line project is part of a GB-wide upgrade of the electricity transmission network that is required to deliver energy security and net zero.

"We are committed to work with all stakeholders to minimise and mitigate environmental, community and land use impacts."