{"id":747792,"date":"2026-08-24T03:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T03:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/747792\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T03:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T03:20:10","slug":"over-7000-objections-against-monster-ai-data-centre-in-larbert-as-deadline-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/747792\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 7000 objections against ‘monster’ AI data centre in Larbert as deadline looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Falkirk<\/a> Council has set the closing date to object to the plans for Monday, as the proposal has drawn criticism from campaigners who claim it is the only application that is in danger of being approved without Scottish Government<\/a> intervention.\n<\/p>\n

\n Many of those objecting to the proposal fear the data centre will create noise and pollution for the thousands of residents living nearby, including those in Forth Valley Hospital, while using an extremely high amount of water and energy.\n<\/p>\n

\n Developer Apatura has applied for planning permission for a 300 megawatts (MW) facility on around 55 acres<\/a> of grassland next to an industrial estate in the town.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: Police threat as ‘rare plant vanishes’ from Scottish beach earmarked for golf course<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n If approved, the centre would have its own electricity substation, as well as 200 industrial-scale diesel generators to provide back-up in case of a power failure or a lack of electricity.\n<\/p>\n

\n The site has been marked as likely to have a \u201cmajor adverse\u201d effect on operational and construction greenhouse gas emissions in its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).\n<\/p>\n

\n The developers have proposed several small-scale mitigation measures, including \u201cmaximising the use of natural sunlight\u201d, using low-energy consumption settings and devices, and using electronic and mechanical equipment with a long effective lifespan.\n<\/p>\n

\n However, local residents and climate campaigners have raised concerns over the true scale of the site’s impact.\n<\/p>\n

\n According to the planning application on the local authority\u2019s website, 7164 comments were made regarding the proposal, with 7037 of them being objections, and 81 in support.\n<\/p>\n

\n It comes after Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad published a new direction for planning authorities on Monday<\/a>, which will apply to data centre developments exceeding a power capacity of 50MW.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"HannahSNP MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad (Image: Jane Barlow\/PA Wire)\n<\/p>\n

\n Developers behind AI data centres will now have to publish Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), with planning authorities also having to notify Scottish ministers of any new applications submitted.\n<\/p>\n

\n Campaigners have welcomed the move as \u201ccommon sense prevailing at last\u201d, but the Scottish Greens<\/a> warned it does not go far enough and a full moratorium should be put in place.\n<\/p>\n

\n The Scottish Government also ruled that proposals for Wester Hermiston Data Centre, in Edinburgh<\/a>, and another in Auchtertool, Fife<\/a>, will have to provide full EIA\u2019s.\n<\/p>\n

\n Earlier this month, officials ruled that a full EIA is required for an AI data centre in South Gyle, also in Edinburgh.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: SNP Government issues categorical denial after Jenny Gilruth ‘bullying email’ claim<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n When the plans for the Larbert site were submitted in June, the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition manager, Fraser Sutherland, who lives nearby in Falkirk, said: \u201cNot only would this extra need for power put a severe strain on existing infrastructure, there is significant concern over the use of fossil fuel back-up generators at these sites.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cAny new deployment of climate-warming oil and gas risks undoing Scotland’s progress on cutting emissions, especially at the levels required for these power-hungry schemes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Meanwhile, Hazel McQueen, who lives just 20 metres away from the proposed site, told the Local Democracy Reporter service that she and her neighbours have \u201cgrave concerns\u201d about the impact the development would have<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cMy concerns include significant noise pollution from cooling systems, plant equipment and backup generators operating both day and night.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI live right next to a busy road that leads onto the motorway but come 8 or 9pm the road can be very quiet.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis monster will operate 24\/7 so the humming and vibrations will be felt and heard throughout the night.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The data centre would occupy the former site of the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters (Image: City of Edinburgh Council)\n<\/p>\n

\n McQueen, who has lived in Larbert all her life, has seen it transform from a small village into a large town, with the infrastructure often struggling to match the pace of development.\n<\/p>\n

\n She added that friends in the USA have alerted her that AI data centres are causing \u201cmajor problems for locals\u201d.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think it\u2019s preposterous that they are even considering building an AI Centre near so many homes. We don\u2019t want this on our doorstep!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The Scottish Government has previously refused to comment on calls by campaigners to \u201ccall in\u201d the application, with Goodlad saying they would not comment on individual proposals, but said that Scotland’s AI strategy sets out expectations that data centre developments \u201cshould include steps\u201d to ensure environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Falkirk Council has set the closing date to object to the plans for Monday, as the proposal has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-747792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}