Planning pipeline · data as of 18 Oct 2026

Scotland’s Data Centre Map and Tracker

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.

How sources are graded: 37 of 47 entries corroborated ↓

Sites

Map: Natural Earth

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.

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".

East Ayrshire

Creoch Farm, Ochiltree

Apatura

Pre-application3 sources200 MWLarge

Where it stands3 independent sources

Announced
Proposal notice
Application
Decision
Built

EIA screening 25/0003/EIASCR lodged 14 Jul 2025. A full application can follow 12 weeks after a notice. Decisions on data centres of 50 MW or more are currently paused for up to 12 months while national guidance is drafted.

Have your say · council applicationNo application to comment on yet. At proposal stage, comments go to the developer's public events.Council record 25/0003/EIASCR ↗How to have your say

Size200 MWLarge5.0% of Scotland's winter peak demand

SurroundingsNot assessed: no council site location to measure from.

Public responseNo public comments published yet.

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

24.5ha of farmland next to Killoch substation; about 45,000 sq m of buildings.

The developer's case

We have not found a project website or public statement from the developer beyond what is listed below.

Apatura website ↗

Jobs in context

Permanent jobs claimedNone published

At the 1.6 per MW study averageabout 320for 200 MW

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.

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 Web Resultsense

Site and design

Land	Farmland (south of Creoch Farm) DatacenterDynamics
Power supply	Claim Killoch substation; rooftop solar DatacenterDynamics

Items marked Claim are the developer's own figures, not independently checked.

The objectors' case

No organised objection or formal objections found yet. Know of a campaign group? Use Report incorrect data at the top of the page.

Planning

Where it stands: EIA screening requested · awaiting application.

Proposal of application noticeNot found on the council portal
EIA screening or scoping25/0003/EIASCR · EIA required · 14 Jul 2025
Planning application lodgedNot yet lodged
Council decision

Site location: no site boundary is published on the council's planning map for this application. The position shown is approximate.

Council planning record · East Ayrshire Council

Reference	Type	Status	Date	Applicant
25/0003/EIASCR	EIA screening	EIA required	14 Jul 2025	Apatura DC Project 12 Ltd

Rules that apply

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
For a major development, the developer must lodge a proposal of application notice and hold at least two public events, and cannot submit the application until 12 weeks after the notice.

Search the East Ayrshire planning portal for the latest documents, consultee responses and public comments.

Sources

NewsData center application filed in East Ayrshire · DatacenterDynamics
CampaignData centre map and table (updated 13 Aug 2026) · APRS

Map: Natural Earth

Position is approximate (town or estate level). Other tracked sites nearby are shown and open their own page. OpenStreetMap · Google Maps

Stage: Pre-application
Capacity: 200 MW
Size band: Large (50 to 249 MW)
5.0% of Scotland's winter peak demand
?
Electricity: It would use 1.3–1.8 TWh a year, from typical use to full capacity: as much electricity as 380,000–510,000 Scottish homes (15–20% of Scotland's homes), or 6–8% of all the electricity Scotland uses. That is 10–14% of what every business, factory and public building in Scotland uses, and 32–43% of the electricity used by every electric train in Britain. ?
For balance: Scotland generated 51.8 TWh in 2024, more than twice the 21.7 TWh it used, and in 2025 about 8.8 TWh of wind in northern Scotland was switched off because the grid could not carry it. Developers argue data centres could use power that is now wasted. Whether a site would depends on where it connects: most switched-off wind is in the north, most proposals are in the Central Belt, and data centres need power on calm days too. Scottish Government The Energyst (Montel analysis)
Developer: Apatura
Location: Ochiltree
Council: East Ayrshire
Latest: EIA screening requested · awaiting application
Coordinates: 55.4570, -4.3900 (approx.)