CIOB backs calls for ‘urgent moratorium’ on data centres in Scotland

The Scottish government is considering a motion put forward by Scottish National Party (SNP) members to suspend approvals for any new hyperscale data centres until an updated national strategy is in place to assess their impact.

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has expressed support for the measure, which was agreed unanimously at a meeting of the SNP’s National Council – the party’s policymaking forum – at the end of June.

The resolution stated that there were now applications for 24 hyperscale data centres, which have either been submitted or are about to be submitted to local councils in Scotland.

“If all 24 applications were to be approved, it is estimated they would require 1.5 times as much energy as Scotland uses at peak demand,” the resolution said.

The National Council demanded that the SNP government implement “an urgent moratorium on all new hyperscale data centres until an updated national strategy is devised to take account of how many of these Scotland needs”, a local councillor involved in the campaign told CM.

Dr Jocelyne Fleming, CIOB’s policy lead for Scotland, said in a statement to CM that a pause would let ministers develop a “joined-up view” of the impact data centres will have.

“Investment in digital infrastructure and the opportunities associated with the digital economy are important. But decisions of this scale should only be made once there is a clear understanding of their long-term implications for Scotland,” she said.

“Data centres can place substantial demands on electricity, grid capacity, land, water and supporting infrastructure, with potentially significant implications for local environments and the communities expected to host them.

“These impacts must be considered and understood in full to ensure negative consequences are avoided. A pause would give ministers time to build a robust evidence base and take a properly joined-up view of cumulative, long-term effects before Scotland becomes committed to projects whose consequences may be felt for decades.”

The National Council resolution was put forward by SNP members from the Kirkcaldy constituency in Fife, where residents are concerned about a planning application submitted to Fife Council for the £5bn, 600MW Cato data centre that would be built on the edge of the small village of Auchtertool.

The application submitted by energy developer ILI Group is for a 69-hectare campus situated next to the village of 215 houses. It would feature six large data halls, gatehouses and associated infrastructure, including electricity substations, fencing, plant and machinery, access roads, paths, parking, drainage and landscaping.

Fife councillor Lesley Backhouse, whose Ward 9 constituency includes Auchtertool, told CM that locals felt they had been caught off guard by the plans and that last-minute scrutiny of the application had led to a 22-day extension of the public consultation period.

She said inquiries by Auchtertool Community Council revealed that ILI’s application for prospective planning permission lacked an environmental impact assessment.

“So luckily, Andrea [Cail], who’s the community council chair, had a person who is an environmental impact officer. She came and walked the site and did an environmental assessment of the site, looking at all the different flora, fauna and animals and insects, etc. So that has been done by the community council,” Backhouse said.


”We then had another meeting on July 1st because the original closing date for objections was July 2nd. And luckily, there’s a former planning officer who lives in Auchtertool, so he had a good look at the paperwork that had been lodged and discovered there were a number of appendices missing from the application.

“So that was then raised with planning officers at Fife Council and, as a result, they have admitted, yes, there were a number of appendices missing from the original application. Therefore, the deadline was then pushed back to the 24th of July for folk to put in objections.”

The community council has leafletted the village and set up a campaign page urging residents to object to the scheme.

Backhouse said the National Council resolution had been lodged with Gillian Martin, SNP cabinet secretary for climate action and rural affairs, who is expected to respond in the coming weeks.

Martin was grilled in parliament on the issue of hyperscale data centres by SNP, Green and Reform MSPs on 24 June.

Mark Ruskell, Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, asked her what national assessment the Scottish government had made of the climate impact associated with hyperscale AI green data centres.

“The Scottish government has not undertaken a wholly national assessment of the remit that the member specifically outlines on data centres,” Martin responded.

“However, we are currently engaging with industry and partner agencies to better understand the cumulative impacts of data centre developments on the environment.

“Currently, when new planning applications come forward, planning authorities have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of all development proposals on their individual merits. That is the case whether they are data centres or, indeed, other developments.”

Ruskell responded: “I hear what the cabinet secretary says about her engagement with industry, but it is communities that are facing a deluge of applications for data centres.

“There are people here today from Fife and across Scotland who are raising their concerns. Answers are needed, cabinet secretary. Fife Council has now asked the Scottish Government for direction over the environmental assessment of the proposed data centre at Auchtertool in Fife.”

Ruskell went on: “Is it not the case that the Scottish government has been totally caught out on this issue? Coming up with a definition of a green data centre next year will be far too late for decision-makers such as Fife Council.”

“Does the cabinet secretary agree that she needs to sit down with the planning minister, sort out the guidance and, in the meantime, put in place a moratorium on decision-making?”

In her response, Martin said: “We are working to make sure that we have everything in place, to give our planning officers throughout the country the tools to assess the applications correctly.”