North Ayrshire

Hunterston Estate

Eneus EnergyHunterston Data Centre Ltd (Eneus Energy)
Pre-application4 sourcesCapacity not publishedSize unknown
Where it stands4 independent sources
  1. Announced
  2. Proposal notice
  3. Application
  4. Decision
  5. Built

EIA screening 26/00138/EIA lodged 30 Mar 2026. 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 26/00138/EIA ↗How to have your say
Have your say · petition7,416 signaturesProtect Hunterston's coast, countryside and heritage ↗Signing a petition does not lodge an official objection with the council. Only comments made on the planning application count in the decision.
SizeNot publishedSize unknown
SurroundingsNot assessed: no council site location to measure from.
Public responseNo council comments published yet. Petition: 7,416 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

Multiple buildings on estate land about 50m from Hunterston Castle. Public events held 25–26 Aug 2026. Capacity not published; the on-site battery is 450MW.

The developer's case

Presents Hunterston as an existing energy and industrial hub with power, water, port and rail links, and the scheme as one of the largest private investments in Ayrshire's history. Eneus Energy

Project page ↗

Consultation events

  • 25 Aug 2026 Pre-application event, West Kilbride Village Hall
  • 26 Aug 2026 Pre-application event, Fairlie Village Hall

Public Notice Portal

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.

Claim Construction: More than 1,000 jobs during construction Eneus Energy

Claimed benefits

InvestmentDeveloper estimate More than £10bn Eneus Energy
Local spendNot stated
Economic value (GVA)Not stated
Community benefitNot stated
Skills and trainingNot stated
  • 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

LandEstate land near Hunterston Castle Clan Hunter / Hunterston Estate
Power supplyClaim 450MW battery on site APRS
Worth knowing: Says there will be 'a significant number' of permanent jobs but gives no figure.

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 want the coast, countryside and heritage around Hunterston protected, and say farmland would become a major industrial complex. change.org petition

petition signatures7,416

Petitions and campaigns

Claims checked

ClaimWhat we found
Campaign claim About 84 hectares of agricultural land change.org petitionDoesn't match The developer's project page gives the site as about 164 acres, which is about 66 ha.
Campaign claim Buildings up to 35 metres high change.org petitionNot checked No application documents have been published yet to check this against.

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.

Planning

Where it stands: PAN published · EIA scoping.

  1. Proposal of application noticeNot found on the council portal
  2. EIA screening or scoping26/00138/EIA · Scoping Agreed · 30 Mar 2026
  3. Planning application lodgedNot yet lodged
  4. 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 · North Ayrshire Council
ReferenceTypeStatusDateApplicant
26/00138/EIAEIA scopingScoping Agreed30 Mar 2026Tetra Tech

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.
  • No capacity has been published. The 50MW rules above apply if the scheme exceeds 50MW.

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

Public response

No public comments published on 26/00138/EIA yet (council portal, 19 Oct 2026).

Concerns reported

Case made for it

Issues as reported in news and campaign coverage, not a count of comments.

Statutory consultees

9 consulted, 9 responded. Including:

Sources