Executive Summary
- Scotland has issued a new direction requiring notification for data centre developments exceeding 50 MW of power capacity
- The direction will ‘support strategic monitoring of the pipeline of such planning applications and of the implications for wider infrastructure’
- Scotland, comparative to the rest of the UK, lacks guidance on how developers and local authorities should apply the ‘National Development’ status attributed to green data centres under the National Planning Framework 4, which could lead to ‘unintended consequences’, according to Colin Lavety of Pegasus Group
Scotland has issued a new direction which requires the government to be notified for data centre developments exceeding 50 MW of power capacity.
The new direction ‘will support strategic monitoring of the pipeline of such planning applications and of the implications for wider infrastructure’, the Scottish government noted.
Hannah Mary Goodlad, minister for public finance, said that data centres were a ‘rapidly emerging sector’, and that planning has a key role to play. “We must balance the economic and employment interests in developing data centres with national energy, climate and community wealth building ambitions, which are vital to our future prosperity, as well as the potential impact on local communities,” said Goodlad.
“It is essential to secure public benefits from this type of development, and I am clear that voices of communities that will be affected will be central to any considerations on data centres,” she added.
Goodlad recalled a planning appeal for ministerial decision relating to a proposed green data centre in Edinburgh, as well as issuing directions requiring Environmental Impact Assessments at locations in Fife and Edinburgh.
The new guidance therefore falls short of a temporary moratorium on new AI data centre developments, something the SNP had backed in July. Nadine Hawkins, writing for Capacity Global, noted that, outside the political arguments, the new regulation does not provide a veto, enabling a council to grant or refuse an application, but instead provides ‘central visibility’ to the process.
Mark Ruskell MSP, the Scottish Greens’ climate spokesperson, described the direction as an ‘important first step’ but noted ‘monitoring the pipeline of applications is not the same as managing it.’
This need for greater visibility and definition has been emphasised elsewhere. Colin Lavety, senior planning director at Pegasus Group, argued earlier this month that Scotland, comparative to the rest of the UK, lacks guidance on how developers and local authorities should apply the ‘National Development’ status attributed to green data centres under the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). This could lead to ‘unintended consequences.’
“A lack of guidance not only leaves developers in the dark but also risks Scotland falling behind on its 2026-2031 AI strategy,” wrote Lavety. “More importantly, it could deter data centre investment away from Scotland and towards other nations that have greater planning predictability.”
