Banning Datacentres / AI Superpower

The city trying to ban giant data warehouses that will use more power than

one million homes. Edinburgh’s attempt to ban data centres could have wider
ramifications for the Government’s plans to make Britain an ‘AI
superpower’. Edinburgh could become the first city in the UK to ban data
centres following public backlash over two giant server warehouses planned
for the Scottish capital. The council is investigating whether it has the
powers to introduce a moratorium on new data centres in response to local
concerns over the environmental impact of the new sites. It comes after The
i Paper revealed last year that a so-called “green” data centre being
proposed in Edinburgh could use as much power as every home in Edinburgh
and Glasgow combined. The dispute in Edinburgh could have wider
ramifications for the UK Government’s plans to make Britain an “AI
superpower”, as communities across the country become increasingly aware
of the huge amount of pressure data centres can put on local water and
electricity supply. The backlash in Edinburgh was sparked by a planning
application for a vast new data centre “campus” on the site of the
former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in South Gyle, on the western
outskirts of the city. Edinburgh Council rejected the application in
February after The i Paper revealed the vast amount of power that would be
consumed by the site, with the planning committee raising concerns about
the development’s impact on the climate crisis. However, separate proposals
for another AI campus are being brought forward at a nearby site in
Hermiston and developers for the initial South Gyle complex have launched
an appeal with the Scottish Government. The applications have prompted
Edinburgh Council to investigate a potential moratorium on data centres,
with officers currently looking into whether such a move would be legal.
The ban would be temporary until the Scottish Government defined what is
meant by a “green” data centre. Scotland’s national planning policy
actively prioritises “green data centres”, meaning councils are
encouraged to approve them, however the Scottish Government has resisted
calls to provide a definition.

iNews 2nd May 2026

https://inews.co.uk/news/city-trying-ban-giant-data-warehouses-power-homes-4391182