Every data centre application in Scotland above 50MW must now be reported to Scottish ministers within seven days of validation, under a direction that came into force on 17 August. It applies to applications already in the system as well as new ones, and requires councils to hand over the application, plans, supporting documents and either the environmental impact assessment report or the screening opinion. Law firm CMS said the effect is to let ministers weigh up calling an application in and deciding it themselves.
That matters commercially because more than 20 hyperscale data centres are in planning across Scotland, according to Friends of the Earth Scotland. Developers now face a national notification step and the possibility of ministerial call-in on projects they had expected councils to decide.
Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad issued the direction, with Chief Planner Dr Fiona Simpson writing to planning officials on 17 August. Goodlad said planning had “an important role to play in considering applications, harnessing economic opportunities, and finding solutions which align with our climate goals”, and that ministers must “balance the economic and employment interests in developing data centres with national energy, climate and community wealth building ambitions”.
She also recalled a planning appeal over a data centre at Redheughs Avenue in Edinburgh, so ministers rather than an appointed reporter will decide it, and directed that environmental impact assessments be carried out at Wester Hermiston in Edinburgh and Auchtertool in Fife. Both councils had judged assessments unnecessary.
Fife Council confirmed the Auchtertool application will now be delayed while the applicant prepares an assessment. Pam Ewen, its head of planning, climate and sustainability, said national planning guidance on data centres “would be welcomed not only for Planning Authorities but also for communities and developers”.
