Large data centre proposals in Scotland, from pre-application notices to live planning applications and appeals, plus the sites already operating. Each entry shows its council planning record, where one exists, and its other sources by type, so every claim can be checked against more than one publisher.
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.
Planning and policy timeline
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".
Application 26/1649/PIP lodged 28 Sep 2026; awaiting the council's decision. Decisions on data centres of 50 MW or more are paused for up to 12 months while national guidance is drafted (expected by December 2026).
Have your say · petition5,051 signaturesHalt plans for the hyperscale data centre near Annan ↗Signing a petition does not lodge an official objection with the council. Only comments made on the planning application count in the decision.
Size1,000 MWGigawatt25% of Scotland's winter peak demandSite about 56.5 ha
Public responseNo council comments published yet. Petition: 5,051 signatures.
How the flags work
Red: nearest building within 100 m, 10% or more of the site in a flood zone, or a designation overlapping the site. Amber: building within 500 m, any flood-zone overlap, or a designation within 500 m. Green: none of these. Measured from the council's application site; buildings from OpenStreetMap, flood zones from SEPA, designations from NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland.
Overview
Planning permission in principle (ref 26/1649/PIP) for eight buildings of about 120MW each, up to 162,000 sq m, on land north of the former nuclear station. Developer cites £16.5bn, about 450 permanent jobs and a 2027–2035 build.
Sources disagree: Lodging date given as 28 Sep (validation) or 30 Sep (announcement). Permanent jobs reported as 450 or 540.
The developer's case
Presents the campus as a new chapter for the former nuclear site: major private investment, a dedicated training centre, and work for local suppliers across Dumfries and Galloway. CX Technology Campus
May–Jun 2026 Community information events in Creca and Annan
Early 2027 Meet the Buyer event for local suppliers Upcoming
Comments made at these events go to the developer. They are not formal comments to the council, which can only be made once an application is lodged.
ClaimConstruction: About 750 jobs over the eight-year build, plus 40 apprenticeships a year CX Technology Campus
Jobs in context
Permanent jobs claimed540
At the 1.6 per MW study averageabout 1,600for 1,000 MW
Claimed jobs per MW0.54
This scheme's claim0.54
Industry modeltechUK, based on older, smaller sites8.5
Planned UK sitesVerdant study of 20 schemes, 20261.6
QTS Cambois, Northumberland720 MW, about 400 jobs0.56
Permanent jobs per megawatt of capacity. This claim is below the study's average for planned sites.
Construction jobs are real but temporary. Figures for "job-years", "jobs supported" or "indirect" jobs count work elsewhere in the economy, not people on site. The per-MW measure comes from the think tank Verdant; techUK says it misses jobs supported outside the site, and the UK Government calls it misleading. The Next WebResultsense
Promise only Dedicated training centre for digital, engineering and energy careers; about 40 apprenticeships a year during construction CX Technology Campus
Other
Promise only Meet the Buyer event for local suppliers, early 2027 CX Technology Campus
Developer estimate The developer's own figure for what it plans to spend. Not a commitment.
Modelled estimate Comes from an economic model the developer paid for. Not checked independently.
Promise only Not yet written into a legal agreement (Section 75) or a planning condition, so it cannot be enforced.
Secured Written into a signed legal agreement or planning condition.
None of these benefits is secured yet for any scheme we track. GVA (gross value added) is the economic output a scheme is modelled to add.
Site and design
Land
Next to former nuclear site
Power supply
Claim Private wire to wind, solar and biomass explored Resultsense
The opening lines summarise in our own words how the developer presents the scheme. Items marked Claim are the developer's own figures, not independently checked.
The objectors' case
Objectors focus on the scale of a 1 GW campus, its energy use and its effect on bills and emissions. A Scottish Green MSP has called for it to be rejected. IT Brief UKScottish Parliament
Campaign claim The data centre alone would take up about 22 football pitches change.org petition
Matches The application's 162,000 sq m of data-centre floorspace is about 23 football pitches.
The opening lines summarise in our own words how objectors present their case. Campaign claims get the same checks as the developer's figures. Petition signatures are not verified as local and are not formal objections to the council.
Site and surroundings
Loading map layers…
Site centreResidentialIndustrial / commercialWoodlandRiver floodSurface water floodCoastal floodSSSI / SAC / SPAAncient woodlandHeritage designationListed buildingSchool, care or healthPower line250 m · 500 m · 1 km from the site centre
Over 50MW, the council must notify Scottish Ministers within seven days of validating an application (in force since 17 Aug 2026). Scottish Government
Over 50MW, an Environmental Impact Assessment is now mandatory (Direction of 16 Sep 2026), including for applications already in the system. Scottish Government
On 16 Sep 2026 MSPs backed pausing planning decisions on large data centres for up to 12 months while national guidance is drafted, expected by December 2026. Resultsense
No public comments published on 26/1649/PIP yet (council portal, 19 Oct 2026). The consultation is open until 15 Nov 2026; comments often appear on the portal some days after they are sent.
Up to 750 construction jobs and about 450 permanent roles IT Brief UK
Issues as reported in news and campaign coverage, not a count of comments.
Statutory consultees
28 consulted, 0 responded. Including: Scottish Water · Annan Community Council · Nuclear Decommissioning Authority · Transport Scotland · Environmental Health · Scottish Environment Protection Agency · Team Leader Flood Risk Management · Council Archaeologist · Contaminated Land Officer · NatureScot
