Respond to SSEN — Save the Deveron Valley

This feedback period has closed.
This page is kept as a public record and a writing aid from the first SSEN Strathbogie Hub consultation. The official feedback form is no longer the current action route.

You don't have to be an expert

The first SSEN feedback period has closed, but a few honest sentences about roads, water, farming, wildlife, landscape, homes, missing information or cumulative impact may still help build the wider evidence record.

If you write to SSEN, a council, an elected representative or another public body, keep a dated copy and ask for written acknowledgement.

Current routes: What Happens Next · Petition · Community Evidence Tools · Who Decides What? · Who to Contact

You don't have to argue for one site over another

Your response to SSEN does not need to say where the Strathbogie Hub should go. You can simply ask SSEN to provide clear evidence, transparent comparison of all shortlisted sites, proper cumulative assessment and meaningful consultation before any preferred site is selected.

A strong response can focus on process, local knowledge and cumulative impact.

A simple starting sentence

If you're not sure what to write, you can start with this and add your own details:

"I am not asking for harm to be moved to another community. I am asking SSEN for a fair, transparent and properly evidenced site-selection process, full cumulative assessment, and meaningful consultation before any preferred site is selected — covering roads, water, farming, wildlife, landscape and local communities."

Other ways to phrase it

"I want SSEN to explain clearly how all shortlisted sites have been assessed, how local evidence will be used, and how cumulative impacts on farms, homes, roads, water, wildlife and communities will be considered."

"I do not feel communities should be asked to respond before key information is available, including clear site comparison, traffic assessment, landscape assessment, water impacts, wildlife impacts and cumulative assessment."

What counts as local evidence

You don't need technical language. Useful evidence includes:

what you've personally seen, experienced, or photographed
road conditions, flooding history, or winter access problems
farming, crofting, or land-use impacts
wildlife observations (kept broad — see safety note below)
whether you received SSEN notification or attended a session
questions you asked that weren't answered clearly

Please do not share exact locations of nests, dens, setts, roosts, rare plants, or other sensitive habitats. For sensitive wildlife information, use appropriate private or formal reporting routes instead — see the Who to Contact Guide.

Where should your evidence go now?

Project design or site-selection question

Send it to SSEN Transmission and keep a copy.

Future Strathbogie Hub planning representation

Submit formally to Aberdeenshire Council when an application is lodged and open for comment.

Beauly–Peterhead overhead-line evidence

Follow the DPEA and Energy Consents Unit procedure for TRL-270-2 / ECU00005165.

Pollution, wildlife, enforcement or archaeology

Use the relevant official route in Who to Contact About What.

A Facebook comment or email to the developer does not automatically enter a formal planning or inquiry record.

Useful questions to ask SSEN

How has SSEN assessed all shortlisted sites — including roads, water, farming, wildlife, landscape, homes, cost, engineering and cumulative impact — and how will that comparison be shared with affected communities?
Has the full cumulative impact on the Deveron Valley been assessed, not just this one proposal?
What independent road safety assessment has been done for the B9022, school routes, and farm access?
How will sensitive wildlife and ecology information be handled and protected?

Keep your own paper trail

Before you send: take a screenshot or save a copy of whatever you submit. If you email, ask for a written acknowledgement. If you use the online form, note the date and time you submitted it.

A calm, clear, specific message is stronger than a long or angry one. You're allowed to say "I don't know enough about this yet, but I want to know how it's being assessed."