Private prototype. Facts from research on 2 to 3 October 2026; not yet reviewed for publication. Forms do not submit.

All schemes

Early stageScotland, Scotland

Westerhill AI Energy Campus (Bishopbriggs)

Apatura held pre-application consultation (PAN TP/ED/25/0428 per APRS only) and says the scheme is at an earlier stage than its other sites; no planning application was found as of 3 October 2026 (search only: the East Dunbartonshire portal could not be read). Any application for this 300MW scheme would be notified to Scottish Ministers within seven days of validation, would need an EIA, and would arrive after the Scottish Parliament's 16 September 2026 vote that no hyperscale decisions should be taken until national guidance is complete (a resolution, not a legal bar on applications). [S1] [S12] [S13] [S14] [S2] [S6]

Key facts

Status
Early stage (pre application) [S1] [S12] [S13] [S14] [S2] [S6]
Decided by
East Dunbartonshire Council (no application yet); Scottish Ministers upheld the EIA requirement on screening, per APRS [S1]
Applicant
Apatura DC Project 6 Ltd [S3] [S4] [S6]
Developer or backer
Apatura (York-based energy and digital infrastructure developer); design consultant Arcadis reported
References
TP/ED/25/0428; TP/ED/25/0245
Location
Green Belt farmland in the Westerhill Regeneration Area, land east of Crosshill Road, between Bishopbriggs and Lenzie, near Cadder. Grid connection reported at Lambhill substation. [S1] [S3] [S5]
Total power
300MW [S3] [S5] [S6]
Buildings
Four data centre buildings: A 80MW (10 halls), B 64MW (8 halls), C1 48MW (6 halls), C2 48MW (6 halls), per developer consultation panels. Separate 500MW battery storage. [S3] [S5] [S6]
Investment (claimed)
claimed by developer: £2.1 billion (consultation panels) [S3] [S5] [S6]
On-site generation
500MW battery energy storage proposed (developer), to be consented separately via the Energy Consents Unit [S3] [S5] [S6]
Cooling and water
Developer panels claim a closed-loop water cooling system and waste heat recovery enabling potential district heating [S3] [S5] [S6]
Designations
Green Belt (per APRS and Bella Caledonia) [S1] [S8]
Previous use
Farmland within the Westerhill Regeneration Area [S1] [S8]
Environmental assessment
EIA required: the developer appealed the council's screening decision to Scottish Government and ministers upheld the requirement (APRS; date and case number not confirmed) [S1] [S8]

Timeline

  1. 2 September 2025
    Urban Realm reports Apatura's plans for a 300MW data centre with 500MW battery storage at Westerhill, with PAN expected by end of 2025. [S4]
  2. 17 September 2025
    Statutory notice published of a pre-application public exhibition (29 September 2025, Allan Glens Rugby Club, Bishopbriggs) for an AI data centre campus with 300MW demand capacity. [S3]
  3. 21 July 2026
    38 Degrees petition 'Oppose Bishopbriggs Data Centre Development' created, addressed to East Dunbartonshire Council. [S7]
  4. 17 August 2026
    Scottish Government direction published: planning authorities must notify Scottish Ministers within seven days of validating applications for data centres over 50MW (no application yet exists here, so nothing to notify) [S13]
  5. 16 September 2026
    Scottish Parliament agrees motion S7M-01177 (80-26, 15 abstentions) on hyperscale data centres, with amendments reported to suspend decisions until national guidance is complete (non-binding resolution); Scottish Government publishes EIA direction for data centres over 50MW [S12] [S14] [S15]
  6. 30 September 2026
    Public information night in Kirkintilloch on the proposed Bishopbriggs and Lenzie hyperscale data centre, organised by No Data Centres in East Dunbartonshire (event page shows it as ended) [S16]

Politicians and organisations

  • No Data Centres in East Dunbartonshire (campaign group; held an information night on 30 September 2026)
  • APRS (tracks the site)

Claims

Claims by developers, campaigners or councils, recorded as claims and not checked as fact.

  • Apatura consultation panels (developer): Investment of £2.1 billion, 2,157 construction jobs a year, 1,730 operational jobs and £420 million annual economic benefit. [S5]
  • Apatura community benefit commitment, September 2026 (developer): Community benefit fund of £1.8 million a year (£6,000 per MW, index-linked). [S6]
  • Apatura consultation panels (developer): Closed-loop cooling and waste heat recovery; use of curtailed renewable electricity. [S5]
  • Bella Caledonia article (opinion) (campaigners): The proposal would take Green Belt farmland during a housing crisis. [S8]
  • 38 Degrees petition text (campaigners): The development would create a constant background hum from cooling equipment, pressure on infrastructure and loss of Green Belt. [S7]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [S1] Apatura Westerhill (Bishopbriggs). Action to Protect Rural Scotland. Level 6 source.
  2. [S2] Data Centre Map. Action to Protect Rural Scotland, 13 August 2026. Level 6 source.
  3. [S3] Allan Glens Rugby Club, 212 Kirkintilloch Road (statutory pre-application public event notice). Public Notice Portal, 17 September 2025. Level 3 source.
  4. [S4] Planned data centre to ensure Bishopbriggs plays a role in the AI economy. Urban Realm, 2 September 2025. Level 4 source.
  5. [S5] Westerhill AI Energy Campus (project website and consultation panels). Apatura. Level 3 source.
  6. [S6] Community Benefit Commitment. Apatura, 1 September 2026. Level 3 source.
  7. [S7] Oppose Bishopbriggs Data Centre Development. 38 Degrees, 21 July 2026. Level 6 source.
  8. [S8] How Scotland's War and AI economy are Burning Our Future: From Fife to Faslane. Bella Caledonia, 8 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  9. [S9] Scottish Government introduces mandatory oversight for major AI data centre developments. The Scottish Review, 17 August 2026. Level 4 source.
  10. [S10] Direction for new data centres. Scottish Government, 16 September 2026. Level 1 source.
  11. [S11] Parliament votes to pause data centre applications until guidance is in place. Action to Protect Rural Scotland, 17 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  12. [S12] Motion S7M-01177: Hyperscale Data Centres (lodged 14 September 2026 by Patrick Harvie; taken in the Chamber 16 September 2026; agreed 80 for, 26 against, 15 abstentions, 8 did not vote). Scottish Parliament, 16 September 2026. Level 1 source.
  13. [S13] Data centre planning direction (published 17 August 2026: planning authorities to notify Scottish Ministers within seven days of validating data centre applications over 50MW). Scottish Government, 17 August 2026. Level 1 source.
  14. [S14] Direction for new data centres (published 16 September 2026: EIA required for new data centres over 50MW; no transitional wording seen in the summary read). Scottish Government, 16 September 2026. Level 1 source.
  15. [S15] Scotland's parliament backs de facto, temporary, moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. DatacenterDynamics, 16 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  16. [S16] No to Data Centres in East Dunbartonshire: Information Night, Wednesday 30 September 2026, Kirkintilloch (event ended). Eventbrite (organiser: No Data Centres in East Dunbartonshire). Level 6 source.
  17. [S17] Apatura Westerhill (Bishopbriggs) - re-read 3 October 2026: APRS page last updated 23 February 2026; lists TP/ED/25/0428 as 'Main Proposal - under consideration'. Action to Protect Rural Scotland, 23 February 2026. Level 6 source.
  18. [S18] Westerhill AI Energy Campus - the project (developer timeline: application Q1-Q2 2026, decision Q3-Q4 2026, now overtaken). Apatura (developer). Level 3 source.
  19. [S19] Whitehall BESS (ECU00004982): 560MW battery, applicant Apatura, East Dunbartonshire, consented 22 July 2025 - a different Apatura scheme, not Westerhill. Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit, 22 July 2025. Level 1 source.