About the tracker | Scotland’s Data Centre Map and Tracker

Sites

OperatingUnder constructionApplication lodgedRefused / appealPre-applicationAnnouncedGrid queue onlyStalled

Circle area scales with MW. Hollow rings have no published capacity. Positions are approximate (town or estate level).

Proposed, in progress and stalled

Schemes from first announcement through to a lodged application, plus those under construction, refused or stalled. Most are large AI campuses still at pre-application, and together they would add many times today's operating capacity.

Operating

Data centres running in Scotland today, mostly colocation, bank and research sites in the Central Belt, Aberdeen and Dundee. Most are small; the largest, DataVita DV1 at Chapelhall, is about 24MW.

How sources are graded

Each entry lists every source we used, labelled by who published it. An entry counts as corroborated when at least two different publishers report it and at least one of them is not a campaign group or a commercial directory.

GovernmentScottish or UK Government, Parliament, the planning appeals division (DPEA), NESO

CouncilLocal authority planning portal records, news or committee papers. Planning records were searched on each council's portal for "data centre" on 18 Oct 2026.

NoticeStatutory planning notices published in local papers

OperatorThe operator's or developer's own website or press release

NewsNewspapers, broadcasters and trade press

CampaignCampaign groups and petitions, including the APRS tracker

DirectoryCommercial data centre listings and property agents

Some news sites block automated link checks, but every link here was found through search and checked on 18 Oct 2026; none returned "not found".

What it covers

The tracker lists 31 proposed, in-progress or stalled schemes and 16 operating sites. For each one it brings together the planning record, size, location, surroundings, public response and what the developer says, alongside the sources behind each fact.

It does not take a side on whether data centres should be built. The case made for each scheme and the concerns raised about it are both reported, each with its source.

How it is put together

Planning records come from the online planning portals of 17 councils: references, dates, status, applicants (organisations only) and comment counts.

Facts are cross-checked. Each entry lists its sources by type (government, council, operator, news, campaign, directory). An entry is marked corroborated only when at least two independent publishers report it and one of them is not a campaign group or directory.

Locations are the centre of each application site as shown on the council's planning map. Application boundaries are not copied onto this site; each page links to the council's own map instead.

Surroundings maps use open data: OpenStreetMap for buildings, roads and rivers, SEPA flood maps, and NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland designations.

Comment analysis reads published objection and support comments where councils make the text available, then reports totals only. No names, addresses or quotes are published, and the downloaded comments were deleted after analysis.

Size bands and flags follow published thresholds, explained where they appear.

Built with AI, about AI

This tracker was researched and built with the help of an AI assistant. It read council portals and public records, cross-checked news and official sources, processed the map data and wrote the code for the site, under the direction of the site owner.

There is an obvious irony in that. Many of the largest schemes listed here are campuses for AI computing, and the tools used to build this site run on data centres too. We think the irony is worth stating rather than hiding.

The difference is one of scale and purpose. The question raised by the tracker is not whether data centres should exist, since Scotland already runs 16 mostly small ones, but how a pipeline of very large proposals is planned, powered and decided. The AI was used here mainly for reading and checking public records, a task that would otherwise take people weeks. Every figure links back to its original source, so nothing on the site has to be taken on trust, including the AI's work.

Limits

Planning details can change within days. The council planning portal is always the authority.

Some councils publish comment counts but not the comment text, so not every scheme can have its comments analysed.

OpenStreetMap is volunteer-made and can miss buildings, care homes and other features.

Developer figures such as jobs and investment are their own claims and are labelled as such.

Independence, corrections and right of reply

The tracker is not affiliated with, or funded by, any developer, council, government body or campaign. Company logos are used only to identify each company's own projects and will be removed on request.

If anything is wrong or out of date, tell the site owner. It will be checked against the original source and corrected, and the change will be noted.

Right of reply. Developers, councils, campaign groups and residents can all send a correction or a short statement using the Report incorrect data button on any project page. Each project page gives the developer's case and the objectors' case side by side, and claims from every side get the same checks.

Data and licences

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence. Flood maps © SEPA; designations © NatureScot and © Historic Environment Scotland; all under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Scotland outline from Natural Earth (public domain). The derived map data files published with this page are available under the Open Database Licence. Site positions, grid references and areas are taken from council planning registers.