Charity calls for data centre safeguards

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The remarks came from environmental charity Foundation for Gaia amid ongoing concerns over a raft of applications for so-called “hyperscale” datacentres of over 50MW, concerns heightened earlier this week when plans to build the world’s biggest centre, 1GW, at the site of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station were submitted.

Facing calls for a moratorium, Public Finance Minister Hannah Goodlad committed last month to a pause in applications pending new national planning guidance she has pledged by Christmas.

Now the foundation has written to Ms Goodlad, calling for safeguards to be included in that guidance, including agreement on the scale of the development before consent, full transparency on environmental data, and enforceable human rights standards.

Legal rights expert at Foundation for Gaia, Gloria Montgomery, said: “Decisions about water, air, energy and land on this scale are human rights decisions as well as planning decisions.

“A temporary pause on decisions is welcome, but it will count for little unless the guidance that follows sets binding limits on the use of natural resources and guarantees meaningful participation of communities whose land and human rights are affected.”

Senior advocacy and campaign strategist at the foundation, Mandie McKeon, added: “We need robust, transparent national planning guidance that forces developers to prove ecological compatibility and community benefit from day one, rather than leaving residents to fight Goliath infrastructure projects on their own.

“Communities across Scotland recognise that digital progress cannot come at the expense of our environmental future and are calling for the government to take concrete action.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.