Two data centres which will use the same energy as all the houses in Edinburgh and Glasgow twice over, are going through the planning process.
Now Edinburgh Council says it will review its decision to allow the developers to build AI data centres without an initial environmental assessment. Only one data centre was previously reviewed.
The council planning department said in July that a company called Apatura would not have to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a 200-megawatt data centre in Riccarton, near the Heriot Watt campus.
A developer needs to submit an EIA if the council decides the project would have “significant” effects on the environment.
Following concerns raised by campaigners, journalists and councillors, the council has now confirmed that its decision will be reviewed, just four months after it was made.
A council spokesperson said: “Taking into account the views raised, it’s our intention to rescreen, to determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment statement is required. It wouldn’t be appropriate therefore to comment further at this stage.”
It is now clear that this statement applies to plans for two data centres in Edinburgh – the 200MW centre by Apatura by the canal at Riccarton, and a 200MW centre by Shelborn Asset Management, on a nearby industrial estate. Previously, the EIA news was only reported in the media in relation to the Shelborn property.
If granted planning permission, these two data centres would consume enough energy to power all the homes in Glasgow and Edinburgh, twice over.
APRS Scotland
Kat Jones, director of APRS Scotland, had set up a petition to campaign against developers being allowed to progress plans without submitting an EIA. Of the decision revealed last week, she said: “This is undoubtedly good news that the council will be requiring an EIA for this data centre, which is down to the campaigning of local people.
“The fact that an EIA was not initially requested is because the regulations are lagging behind this data centre boom. APRS is calling on Government to update the regulations to ensure all data centres are required to do an EIA.”
Apatura, a developer with its headquarters in York, is proposing to build multiple data centres across Scotland, and every council involved – not just Edinburgh – will make its own decision regarding environmental assessments.
A spokesperson for Apatura said it had, alongside its planning agent, AAH Consultants, requested EIA screening opinions for all of its “active data centre sites”.
Depending on the decision of the planning department at Edinburgh Council, it is possible that both Apatura and Shelborn may still not need to submit an EIA.
Scott Arthur
When asked about this issue in October, MP for Edinburgh South West Dr Scott Arthur said, “Given that the [Apatura] site lies within designated greenbelt land, I’m surprised and disappointed that an Environmental Impact Assessment has not been deemed necessary. That said, I recognise that the Council must operate within the policy framework established by the Scottish Government.”
When asked if he would work to lobby to change or update the law, Dr Arthur did not respond.
EIA law
Council planning officials make their assessment of whether a development is required to submit an EIA based on an eight-year-old law – the 2017 Town and County Planning Regulations – to determine whether the proposal would have “significant environmental effects”. In the original council decision for Shelborn, in 2022, and Apatura, in July this year, it was decided these data centres would not have such effects.
Yet in the council’s own screening opinion for Apatura – the report that decides whether a developer should submit an EIA – it reads, “[The site is] located in or near environmentally sensitive areas as defined in City Plan 2030 (LDP) including Local Nature Conservation Sites, Gogar Special Landscape Area, Ancient Woodlands and the Green Belt.”
The decision on whether or not a developer needs to submit an EIA happens at an early stage of the process. In 2022, Shelborn was told it did not need to submit an EIA. In September 2025, Shelborn applied for planning permission, the timeline for public comments expired on 1 October and the developer is awaiting an ultimate decision by January 2026. Unlike an EIA, a committee of elected councillors will decide whether to grant planning permission.
Even though the council is now reviewing whether Shelborn should submit an EIA, the above timeline for planning permission will not change, and the public will not be able to comment.
The other data centre developer, Apatura, has not formally applied for planning permission yet, but it has already attracted some criticism due to its location on a field by the canal.
Gordon Macdonald
Gordon Macdonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, said that although investment in this sector was welcome, he objected to Apatura building a centre on the green belt at Riccarton. He also questioned the lack of clarity around water usage, the increase of traffic to the area during construction, and the visual impact of a 20-metre building.
He said: “The size and scale of the building proposed in this application, whilst outside the boundary of the conservation area, cannot help but affect the nature of the conserved area immediately adjacent to it.”
Mr Macdonald added: “A decision to allow this development would be contrary to City Plan 2030 and local planning policy.”
NESO
The UK’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) estimates that 20% of future data centre demand could be located in Scotland. This is due to factors like the availability of land, the temperate climate and the supply of renewable energy.
In November the UK Government announced that a 500MW data centre in an “AI growth zone” in Scotland would receive a discount on its energy bills of up to £24 per megawatt.
Both Apatura and Shelborn have claimed their developments are “green”. The term “green data centre” features in the National Planning Framework 4, which is used by planning officials to decide which developments get the green light. It is unclear how this phrase originated in the national framework, or what it means.
Kat Jones wrote on APRS’ website: “We are very concerned that the Government has no definition or guidance on what constitutes a “Green” data centre. We are seeing applications for huge data centres springing up all over the central belt of Scotland and every one of them is claiming to be “green”. This comes as little surprise when we discover that ‘Green Data Centres’ are being classed by the Government as ‘national developments’, giving them a privileged position in the planning system.”
NFP4 is a 10-year plan, adopted in 2023. However, new regulations came into effect in December 2024 that enable Scottish Ministers to amend the framework – a potential loophole that campaigners have their eye on. Any changes to the framework in this regard could affect how many data centres are built in Edinburgh, how quickly their approval is decided, and how closely they are scrutinised.
