Site Spittal Sub Station, Halkirk - Planning Committee 7 March
1st March 2023
The North Planning applications committee of Highland council meeting on 7th March 2023 will debate an application for a substation at Spitall, Caithness.
This report informs the Planning Applications Committee of the submission of the attached Proposal of Application Notice (PAN).
1.2 The submission of the PAN accords with the provisions of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and was made valid on 16th February 2023. The PAN is a statutory requirement for planning applications for major or national developments and must be lodged at least 12 weeks prior to the submission of a planning application. Members are asked to note that this may form the basis of a
subsequent planning application.
In line with the consultation requirements outlined under the provision of the Town and Country Planning (Pre-Application Consultations (Scotland) Regulations 2019 which came into force on 01 October 2022, the applicants are proposing two consultation events:
Proposed Public Event 1
• Spittal Village Hall, Spittal, Caithness, KW1 5XR: 28/11/22 at 1600-2000
• Bettyhill Village Hall, Bettyhill, Thurso, KW14 7SS: 29/11/22 at 1500-1930
• North Coast Visitor Centre, High Street, Thurso, KW14 8AJ: 30/11/22 at 1500-
1930
Proposed Public Event 2
• The Pentland Hotel, Princess Street, Caithness, KW14 7AA: 21/03/23 at 1530-1930.
• Strathy Village Hall, Strathy, Sutherland, KW14 7RZ: 22/03/23 at 1530-1930.
• Ross Institute, Bridge Street, Halkirk, Caithness, KW12 6XZ: 23/03/23 1530-1930.
As required by the aforementioned regulations the applicant must at the final event provide feedback to members of the public in respect of comments received by the applicant to date.
A community questionnaire has been circulated to community leaders, at community events and remains available online at www.westoforkney.com
DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
2.1 The proposed scheme comprises the onshore infrastructure which will be required to facilitate the proposed West of Orkney Offshore Wind Farm. The wind farm will be located approximately 28km off the Caithness coast. It is understood that the onshore proposal will comprise of the following elements:
• Cable landfalls - at Greeny Geo and/or Crosskirk, Caithness
• One cable transition joint bay at each landfall
• Up to 5 underground onshore cables, buried to a depth of 1m, subject to ground conditions. The underground cables shall extend for a distance of approximately 22km. During construction, a corridor up to 100m wide may be required, which includes haul roads, topsoil and turf storage. Soil and turf shall be reinstated after construction.
A new onshore substation, at or near the existing Spittal substation. The exact location and size will depend on ground conditions, landowner agreement and grid requirements.
• The onshore substation will include the electrical equipment to connect the West of Orkney Windfarm to the grid. This may include switchgear, transformers, harmonic filters, reactive compensation devices, protection equipment, batteries and other auxiliary equipment.
• Temporary construction compounds for the onshore substation and cable landfalls.
• Potential new access tracks for the onshore export cables, landfalls and onshore substations.
• Additional areas may be required for screening, drainage, biodiversity net gain etc. Any additional areas shall be within the infrastructure area and clearly marked in the application.
Read the full report HERE
