Our proposed route for the underground cables between the converter station at Westfield and the landfall point at Kinghorn is approximately 16.4km in length, running mainly through rural areas to the south of the A92, and on the margins of scattered settlements to the north of the A92.
The preferred route avoids designated areas including Camilla Loch SSSI, Raith Park and Beveridge Park Garden. It will cross under the A92, the Fife Circle Railway Line and watercourses using trenchless technology (such as HDD). This technology may also be used to pass safely under other features such as large areas of woodland if we cannot route around them.
Following our first round of public consultation, our design team made up of engineering and environmental specialists developed a detailed route alignment for the underground cables within the preferred route corridor, including locations for construction compounds and access routes for construction vehicles. The route includes the cable trench, topsoil storage bunds, haul road and drainage.
The design work included boreholes and other intrusive surveys to assess the suitability of the land along the route, and technical assessments of how and where to cross beneath roads, railway lines, watercourses and woodlands. Ecologists also walked the route to identify potential habitats for protected species including badgers, otters and bats.
The ‘red line boundary’ (shown on the map) allows for a small amount of deviation in the route, so we can make adjustments to allow for any environmental sensitivities that may be discovered at the time of project construction.
We will use HDD technology to drill beneath Minto Woodlands to ensure no impact on the recently-planted woodland and new footpaths. The HDD will drill the cable ducts from a compound on one side of the woodland, emerging in a second, smaller compound on the other side of the woodland.No access is envisaged to the woodland or footpath areas for these works.
We recognise that construction work can cause temporary inconvenience and disturbance, but we believe our preferred route will keep this to a minimum. Once the cables are installed the land will be reinstated and there will be no visible above-ground infrastructure.