Parliament votes to pause hyperscale data centre applications until guidance is in place AND all are to be required to do Environmental Impact Assessments.
After a debate in the Parliament brought by the Scottish Greens, Ministers and the Parliament as a whole have now endorsed text that says no decisions on planning or consenting of hyperscale data centres should be made until planning guidance is complete.
This follows an announcement this morning from the Scottish Government that all hyperscale data centres will be required to do an EIA.
The wording is: “….calls on the Scottish Government to report back to Parliament on the development of national planning guidance by the end of the current calendar year and to publish this guidance in full within 12 months, and believes that no decisions on planning or consenting in relation to such applications should be made until this has been completed.”
Dr Kat Jones, Director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said:
“This is a landmark day for all those communities across Scotland who have been extremely concerned about projects coming forward in their areas. There’s much still to be done but this is a huge step forward and we can all at least take a breath now.
“The Scottish Greens have been working tirelessly to see a pause in planning decisions until there is a proper national strategy in place, and Scottish Labour have played a huge role today in getting this over the line.
“It’s great that Scottish Ministers and the Parliament as a whole have now endorsed text that says no decisions on planning or consenting should be made until that guidance and strategy is complete. That means Scottish Government must now urgently call in those applications which are approaching a decision date. The communities will expect nothing less.
“We will keep working with the communities, and with MSPs across the parties, to make sure Ministers do the best possible job and remove this terrible cloud of uncertainty that has been hanging over dozens of communities across Scotland.”
Lisa Beacham, Hurlford campaign said
‘Communties across Scotland are breathing a sigh of relief this afternoon. Thank you to every MSP who supported the amendment to pause applications until proper assessments and guidance can be implemented. This will come as a huge relief to Larbert, we congratulate all communities and charities who campaigned on this issue ‘
Diane Davison of the Chapelhall campaign said:
Given today’s events, we are relieved to have some breathing space.
The scale and potential impact of the proposed Chapelhall AI Data Zone is enormous, and residents need time to understand what an AI Data Centre proposal could mean for their area before they can meaningfully be part of the conversation.
Major questions remain about how the AI Data Zone should now be treated going forward.
It is not practical to expect residents to follow and understand every individual planning application as it comes forward when there is no clear masterplan of how the developments, infrastructure and energy requirements will interact, or what their cumulative impact could be.
Residents should not have to piece together application by application how the AI zone will eventually look.”
Hazel Mackie of the Larbert campaign said:
Yesterday’s parliamentary vote to “pause” all applications was a further move in the right direction – but would not have happened without relentless and collective pressure from supporters, campaigners and communities across Scotland. We should all be incredibly proud of that.
But for Larbert, yesterday was also pivotal as friends, families, supporters and campaigners endured a grueling 4 hour Pre-Determination Hearing on the hyperscale data centre planned in our community.
Countless representations have now publicly exposed this Developer’s utter disregard for the impact this environmental nightmare would have on the health, safety and well being of local residents and the business community.
To be progressed to this stage, despite the scale of incorrect, missing and misleading information revealed last night, is the most damning evidence yet that the current planning framework is not fit for purpose.
We were told yesterday that a national moratorium is not “necessary, or appropriate” and would “send the wrong message to anyone looking to invest in Scotland”.
Perhaps we could remind the decision makers that actually, it’s exactly the right message for anyone looking to invest in Scotland. If you are – you will need to meet our rigorous standards for people and place. If not – invest elsewhere.
Sarah Finlay, West Edinburgh against AI data centre said:
Our community in West Edinburgh and many others across Scotland have been working tirelessly against US big tech to have their voices heard. We are delighted that MSPs have recognised these calls. There is a lot yet to be understood about the impacts and benefits of AI Hyperscale Data Centres on our resources, environment and communities and we look forward to the national planning guidance and scrutiny. Sarah Finlay, West Edinburgh against AI data centre
Matt Bernico of the Greenock campaign said
“On the day that the comments closed on the Greenock data centre planning page, the Scottish government brought both a new requirement for Environmental Impact Assessments along with a pause while they write new guidance for data centre planning. Both of these provisions are clear victories for the people of Inverclyde and Scotland. However, it is utterly unacceptable that it took the Scottish Greens forcing a vote to get the government here.
“The Scottish Government’s failure to provide clear, upfront guidance left our local planning process up to the whims of billionaires pushing their own agenda in our community. Moving forward, no data centre should ever be considered without a mandatory environmental study and good-faith community consultation. We now expect the Scottish Government to finally deliver robust, binding guidance that puts environmental protection and public transparency ahead of Big Tech interests.”
Any press enquiries email kat@aprs.scot or call and press 1 for media
The Agreed wording
That the Parliament believes new hyper-scale data centres in Scotland will only be approved where they have met robust environmental impact assessments, which will take account of any impact on the amenity of any neighbouring communities;
welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to the swift creation of national planning and spatial guidance by the end of the year for the determination of conditions, under which data centre development should be permitted;
believes that, in order to gain planning approval, any proposals for data centres should demonstrate how they would minimise emissions for their energy usage and not impact on water usage and how community wealth benefit will be built in to the business case;
notes that best practice for the creation of data centres includes steps to support decarbonisation and to recycle waste heat for wider community use;
recognises the increased utilisation of AI and further development of such technology, and calls for strong domestic regulation of and international collaboration on the development and use of AI systems to ensure its safe and ethical use, and to address the scale and seriousness of potential threats the use of AI may pose now and in the future.
believes that Scotland has great strengths in data science and energy, and as such, a clear industrial strategy is required to maximise the economic benefits of AI data centre developments, including jobs and wages;
calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward a clear definition of what constitutes a hyperscale data centre and to issue national planning guidance, alongside robust environmental standards and assessments, to inform national and local decision-making on current and potential hyperscale data centre planning applications;
notes that such guidance must provide clarity on spatial, community and social impacts of any such developments and that decisions must be based on community consent;
agrees that consideration must be given to implementing community benefit schemes and adjusting the non-domestic rates regime or other tax measures to ensure that economic benefits are accrued by communities in which such data centres are sited;
calls on the Scottish Government to report back to Parliament on the development of national planning guidance by the end of the current calendar year and to publish this guidance in full within 12 months, and believes that no decisions on planning or consenting in relation to such applications should be made until this has been completed.“