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

All schemes

Decision pendingScotland, Scotland

Chapelcross Technology Campus data centre

Planning permission in principle for eight data centre buildings (1GW) was lodged with Dumfries and Galloway Council in the last days of September 2026 (APRS says validated 28 September; press reports 30 September to 1 October). The objection deadline is reported as 29 October 2026. Holyrood has voted that no hyperscale decisions be made until national guidance is complete, so a decision is not expected soon. [S1] [S3] [S4] [S5] [S11]

Key facts

Status
Decision pending (application submitted) [S1] [S3] [S4] [S5] [S11]
Decided by
Dumfries and Galloway Council (Scottish Ministers must be notified within 7 days of validation and could call in) [S4] [S14]
Applicant
CX Tech Ltd (also styled CX Power Limited in the PAN report) [S2] [S6] [S7]
Developer or backer
Appointed 'strategic development partner' by NDA Properties Limited (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority subsidiary), per FutureScot
References
26/1649/PIP; 26/0855/PAN; 26/0464/SCO
Location
About 55-57 hectares north of the decommissioned Chapelcross nuclear power station, outside its Nuclear Licensed Area; land owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (per Scottish Construction Now) [S1] [S2] [S6]
IT capacity
1000MW [S1] [S2] [S5] [S7]
Site area
57 ha [S1] [S2] [S5] [S7]
Buildings
Eight data centre buildings of about 120MW each, each about 250m by 80m and up to 40m high, plus training centre, substation and supporting infrastructure [S1] [S2] [S5] [S7]
Investment (claimed)
GBP16.5bn (claimed by developer) [S1] [S2] [S5] [S7]
Backup generators
Campaign petition alleges 300+ diesel or bio-diesel backup generators; developer describes backup as 'fossil-free' (FutureScot). Neither verified. [S5] [S6] [S7] [S10]
Cooling and water
Closed-loop, non-evaporative air cooling; water use claimed equal to about four homes per building a year (about 32 households for the campus); PUE target 1.30 or better (all claimed by developer) [S5] [S6] [S7] [S10]
Previous use
Land beside the former Chapelcross nuclear power station (operated 1959-2004, being decommissioned); described by developer and press as brownfield [S1] [S4] [S5] [S13]
Environmental assessment
EIA scoping decision of 19 April 2026 required an EIA (APRS). Data Centre Review quotes the developer saying 'an extensive Environmental Impact Assessment has already been undertaken'. Application lodged after the mandatory 50MW EIA direction took effect on 17 September 2026. EIA Report contents not read. [S1] [S4] [S5] [S13]

Timeline

  1. 20 March 2026
    EIA scoping request 26/0464/SCO submitted (PAN report) [S2]
  2. 19 April 2026
    EIA scoping decision: EIA required (APRS) [S1]
  3. 11 May 2026
    Proposal of application notice 26/0855/PAN validated (APRS; PAN report dated mid-May) [S1] [S2]
  4. 16 June 2026
    Second public consultation round planned for 16-17 June (PAN report; first round 12-13 May) [S2]
  5. 16 August 2026
    Change.org petition launched [S10]
  6. 16 September 2026
    Scottish Parliament votes that no hyperscale planning decisions be made until national guidance is complete [S11] [S16]
  7. 17 September 2026
    Ministers' EIA direction for data centres over 50MW comes into force [S13]
  8. 28 September 2026
    Application 26/1649/PIP validated (APRS and Planning Geek) [S1] [S4]
  9. 30 September 2026
    Application publicly reported (STV, Resultsense, Deadline News; Scottish Greens MSP Laura Moodie calls for rejection) [S3] [S8] [S9]

Politicians and organisations

  • Laura Moodie MSP (Scottish Greens, South Scotland) calls for rejection
  • APRS
  • Say NO to Chapelcross AI Data Centre (local campaign)

Claims

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

  • CX Tech Ltd (CEO Graeme Anderson) (developer): GBP16.5bn investment; about 750 construction jobs; about 450 permanent direct jobs (500-540 in other reports); 40 apprenticeships; completion about 2035 [S3] [S5] [S9]
  • CX Tech Ltd (developer): Net zero operation on renewable electricity; will not compete with local homes and businesses for electricity [S5] [S8]
  • APRS (campaigners): About 7 million MWh a year (32% of Scotland's 2024 electricity use, 2.2 million households) and 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 a year from electricity alone [S1]
  • Laura Moodie MSP (Scottish Greens) (other): Emissions would nearly double the legal greenhouse gas limit for Dumfries and Galloway; proposal 'reckless' [S8] [S9]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [S1] Chapelcross Data Centre (APRS site page; PIP validated 28 September, objections by 29 October). APRS, 1 October 2026. Level 6 source.
  2. [S2] Proposal of Application Notice Report, Chapelcross Technology Campus. CX Power Limited (applicant document on planning.org.uk), 19 May 2026. Level 3 source.
  3. [S3] Chapelcross 1,000MW data centre plan tests Holyrood's pause. Resultsense, 30 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  4. [S4] Chapelcross data centre enters planning with GBP16.5bn 1GW campus. Planning Geek, 1 October 2026. Level 5 source.
  5. [S5] CX Tech submits plans for 1GW Chapelcross data centre campus. Data Centre Review, 1 October 2026. Level 5 source.
  6. [S6] Plans submitted for GBP16.5bn data centre at former Chapelcross nuclear site. Scottish Construction Now, 1 October 2026. Level 5 source.
  7. [S7] Massive GBP16.5bn datacentre campus planned for former Chapelcross nuclear site. FutureScot, 2 October 2026. Level 4 source.
  8. [S8] Plans submitted for 'world's largest' data centre at former Chapelcross nuclear power station. STV News, 30 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  9. [S9] Scottish Green MSP calls for rejection of data centre at former nuclear plant. Holyrood magazine, 30 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  10. [S10] Petition: Halt Plans for The Hyperscale Data Centre Near Annan. Change.org (Samantha Gibson), 16 August 2026. Level 6 source.
  11. [S11] MSPs reject datacentre moratorium but pause planning decisions. Computer Weekly, 17 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  12. [S12] SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT HAVE PAUSED DATA CENTRES - BUT THEY ARE STILL TAKING APPLICATIONS. Aye TV (Substack), 20 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  13. [S13] Data centres: Chief Planner Letter and EIA Direction. Scottish Government, 16 September 2026. Level 1 source.
  14. [S14] Data centre planning direction. Scottish Government, 17 August 2026. Level 1 source.
  15. [S15] What did and didn't happen about AI datacentres at Holyrood. Bella Caledonia, 20 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  16. [S16] Parliament votes to pause data centre applications until guidance is in place. APRS, 16 September 2026. Level 6 source.