Refusal of planning applications submitted by SSE and SSEN: FOI release

Information requested

"Can you please tell me if the Scottish Government has ever refused any planning application which is determined by Scottish ministers and submitted by SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) and SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks)?" 

"If it has, can you please provide details of the applications and the reasons for refusal?." 

If I might firstly explain that, because, the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIR’s), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. 

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request. 

Response

After a check of our systems, I can confirm that we have no record of any refused planning applications submitted by SSE and SSEN. 

Further information being provided: 

In total only 3 applications have been received from SSE and 0 applications from SSEN. All 3 applications received from SSE were allowed, for ease I have provided the details below: 

PPA-310-2028	Variation Of Planning Condition No.1 On Planning Permission N/14/00164/Ppm To Extend The Operational Time Period Of The National Offshore Wind Turbine Testing Facility At Hunterston Construction Yard, Fairlie, Largs, Until 14Th October  2019.	SSE Generation Ltd
PPA-360-2010	(West Batching Plant) Creation Of A 100M X 80M Compacted Stone Platform And Siting Of Concrete Batching Plant And Associated Facilities, To Be  Partially Surrounded By Soil Bunding	SSE
PPA-360-2011	(East Batching Plant) Creation Of A 100M X 80M Compacted Stone Platform And Siting Of Concrete Batching Plant And Associated Facilities, To Be  Partially Surrounded By Soil Bunding	SSE

These can all be viewed via our online portal, which is available through the following link: Scottish Government - DPEA - Case List (scotland.gov.uk) 

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