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 P/26/0237/FUL lodged 04 Jun 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).
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
Full application P/26/0237/FUL on 55 acres off Bellsdyke Road, moved here from an earlier site at Plean. 7,284 representations, 7,166 of them objections. Councillors questioned 200 diesel backup generators, noise and tree loss.
The developer's case
Presents the campus as a green hyperscale project on business-allocated land, arguing that demand from AI is rising fast and that the investment and jobs will go elsewhere if Scotland does not act now. Apatura consultation site
28 Oct 2025 Public consultation meeting, Glenbervie House
27 Nov 2025 Public consultation meeting, Glenbervie House
28 Oct 2026 Webinar for Bellsdyke and Stirling Road residents Upcoming
29 Oct 2026 Larbert community webinar 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: More than 5,000 jobs a year during construction (at filing) FutureScot
Jobs in context
Permanent jobs claimed297
At the 1.6 per MW study averageabout 480for 300 MW
Claimed jobs per MW0.99
This scheme's claim0.99
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
Claimed benefits
Investment
Developer estimate About £1bn (£2.3bn on the consultation website) FutureScot
Worth knowing: Figures have shifted: 1,300 long-term jobs at filing, 297 on-site jobs later; nearly £1bn of investment at filing, £2.3bn on the consultation site. Its benefits page also gives two different apprenticeship levy figures (£339,000 and £583,000) in the same line.
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
More than 7,000 objections were lodged. At the hearing, councillors questioned the 200 diesel backup generators, noise and the loss of trees, and the site's status as business land is disputed. ResultsenseDatacenterDynamics
formal objections7,113
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
Search the Falkirk planning portal for the latest documents, consultee responses and public comments.
Public response
7,113against
83in support
27neutral
159neighbours notified
99% of comments that took a side were against. From the public comments tab of P/26/0237/FUL, read 19 Oct 2026. This council publishes the counts but not the comment text, so what people wrote cannot be analysed.
Neighbouring care home not consulted; residents on ventilators DatacenterDynamics
Case made for it
About 500 jobs during delivery; keeps AI investment in Scotland Resultsense
Issues as reported in news and campaign coverage, not a count of comments.
Statutory consultees
26 consulted, 22 responded. Including: Scottish Water · Scottish Government · National Architectural Liaison Support & Development Officer · Scottish Water (EIA Consultations) · NHS Forth Valley · Environmental Protection Unit · Roads Development Unit · Emergency Planning Unit · Falkirk Council Climate Change and Energy Team · HSE PADHI+
