A few minutes ago the Development Management sub-committee at Edinburgh City Council refused Planning Permission in Principle for a 210MW data centre at the Gyle, Edinburgh. Here are some observations from the meeting and a statement from APRS.
Media sources that have quoted us on this story: The Herald,The National
The application was refused on the grounds of being:
- Contrary to NPF4 policy 1 – as it does not address the climate crisis
- Contrary to NPF4 policy 2 – as it doesn’t address lifecycle Green House gas emissions
- Contrary to the City Plan Place- Place 19 policy because it does not support the mixed use vision for Edinburgh Park area.
You can watch the meeting here:
Dr Kat Jones, Director of APRS said
“This is an absolutely momentous decision. Congratulations to all the campaigners who have been raising awareness of the huge impacts that data centres have on communities and the environment. The Committee refused this application on the grounds of the impacts that it would have on the climate crisis, the lifecycle greenhouse emissions, and that it does not fit within the local plan for the area.
“Again and again during the discussions, the lack of a definition of a ‘green data centre’ was raised as an issue, by council planning officials and by councillors. This is a glaring issue that will be faced by every hyperscale data centre coming through the planning system. We need an immediate moratorium from the Scottish Government to give time for a proper review of their impacts on climate targets, communities, and the grid.
“This decision has shown that ‘green’ data centres as a ‘National Priority’ does not trump concerns on environmental impacts and it does not trump the local development plan”
Some things that I noted from the discussions at the development management committee
The lack of a definition of what a ‘green’ data centre is came up as a major issue again and again in the deliberations of the Development Management committee. A lot of heavy lifting seems to be being done by a statement from the Scottish Government, which we think is just one sentence in the answer to a Written Question in the Scottish Parliament S6W-41362. This says
‘To be considered a green data centre, planning authorities may wish to consider criteria such as the extent to which the data centre is powered from renewable energy sources; makes use of energy efficient technologies; seeks to minimise water consumption; and supports the re-use of excess heat.’
This wording from Scottish Government was referenced quite a few times in the discussions.
And one of the councillors said ‘we’ve seen the incredibly unhelpful guidance issued by the Scottish Government on what a green data centre is’.
One of the planning officials said that they were used to referring to clear definitions and a glossary of terms so that they can write their recommendations, but in the case of green data centres there is no entry in the glossary and no definition.
The councillors were told by the planning officials that it was ‘in their gift’ both to decide what a green data centre was for the purposes of NPF4, and to weigh the ‘National Development’ status of green data centres against other ‘material considerations’.
Councillors were concerned that the data centre went against the principles in the Edinburgh Local Development Plan, City Plan 2030, specifically Place 19 [1] for the Gyle which is to transform the area to housing and leisure use. In fact there is a mixed leisure, office and housing development which is planned to be built this year with mix of business leisure and housing. This housing development application is only 50m away from the data centre, and would be impacted by the noise from the data centre, visual impact, including a very high security fence and chimneys for the generators) and the impact of the diesel generators, when they are in use. The councillors were also concerned what the impacts of the high energy demand of the data centre would have on the grid and the existing business and homes (and the ones that are planned).
The developers were challenged on the quantity of car parking spaces that were planned – over 200 – given the tiny number of staff that it will employ. The developers did not challenge the statement that they will employ a very small number of people, the council estimated 39 in their consultation response, but they said that certainly initially, there would be a lot of contractors and deliveries on the site.
[1] Edinburgh Park: southern phase residential led mixed use development masterplan – includes approx 1737 residential units. Place 19 ison p77 of the City Plan 2030.
To contact APRS call 0131 2257012 and press 1 for media contact
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