The Bothie is a community-run organisation for young people in Kintore and offers a space which can provide support, advice, and help with issues facing young people in the area, as well as bringing them together to help enhance their education and social skills. The Bothie was recently awarded funding for new brickwork around the exterior of the building after the old plaster and straw bale cladding was starting to crack, so they issued a call for volunteers to help with removal of the old exterior.
The team of five volunteers from SSEN Transmission reached out to help, and soon sprung into action to spruce up the exterior of the popular community space, clearing away debris following the removal of the old cladding plaster and straw bales.
The SSEN Transmission volunteers brought along rakes, litter pickers and shovels to help with the clear-up on the day, and once work was complete donated all tools to The Bothie team for them to use in any future projects.
SSEN Transmission encourages all staff to take part in ‘Be The Difference' days, where they can take a paid days leave to support a cause or charity which is important to them, and the Kintore substation project team were keen to support a local cause and give something back to the local area.
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SSEN Transmission Project Manager Cris MacDonald said: "As guests in the area, it is really important to us that we try and have a positive impact on the local community, so we are always looking for ways we can support and get involved. We heard that the team at The Bothie could do with some much needed people-power to progress with the clear-up and removal of old cladding from around the building, so we sprang into action.
"The team were really keen to provide their support and volunteer their time – most of the team have been working on the project since it kicked off in 2021 - and everyone in the team was keen to give back to the community.
"I'm pleased the team have been able to use their Be The Difference day to help out at the Bothie and make a positive contribution here in Kintore. We'll continue to keep the local community and stakeholders informed of our progress and thank them for their patience while we continue with our work at Kintore Substation."
Brian Johnstone, Chairman of Action Kintore, said: "The support from the SSEN Transmission Kintore project team is so much appreciated, it helped our own volunteers to progress the project end quickly.
"It is so humbling to have local companies and their staff support our youth project this way, further confirming the regular commitment by SSEN Transmission, in continuing to support our local community projects."
SSEN Transmission's new Kintore 400kV substation will be built to the west of the existing substation at Leylodge and is a key component in SSEN Transmission's reinforcement and improvement of the transmission network in the North East and East Coast of Scotland. It will facilitate the connection of new renewable electricity to the National Grid and will also help control the flow of energy across the North East, helping transport renewable electricity to where it's needed, supporting the transition to net zero emissions and the fight against climate change.
A separate project is also underway to upgrade the existing substation at Leylodge, as the 132kV equipment at Kintore is nearing the end of its operational life.
Both projects are on track to be completed in 2026.
