Data centers in Edinburgh: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Two large data centers are proposed on Edinburgh's western edge, and neither has permission. The City of Edinburgh Council refused Shelborn Drummond's plan for a data center of about 210 megawatts of power on the former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters site at 1 Redheughs Avenue, South Gyle, and the developer appealed to the Scottish Government. In August the government put the appeal on hold until Shelborn Drummond submits a full environmental impact assessment. No appeal decision has been published.

Councilors on the development management sub-committee refused the South Gyle plan unanimously in early February 2026, although the council's planning officers had recommended approval. They doubted the project's "green" label: committee papers projected about 200,000 metric tons of emissions a year, and the plan would remove a quarter of the trees on the site. "If this isn't a green data centre, which I believe it isn't, there are major issues with this proposal," said Green councilor Alys Mumford. The campaign group Action to Protect Rural Scotland warned the backup generators could burn the equivalent of "100,000 idling cars-worth of diesel."

The second project is a 200-megawatt data center at Hermiston proposed by Apatura. The council acknowledged its pre-application notice in March 2026, and the Scottish Government has ruled that it needs a full environmental impact assessment, Deadline News reported on September 15.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.