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

Larbert data centre campus (Glenbervie Business Park)

Full application P/26/0237/FUL (received 29 May, validated 4 June 2026) is awaiting decision. The council portal shows 7,239 comments, a determination deadline of 4 October 2026 with no agreed extension, and no committee date (checked 3 October 2026). Falkirk held a pre-determination hearing on 16 September 2026 with no vote; councillors still have to decide. If the deadline passes undecided, the applicant can appeal to Scottish Ministers for non-determination. Holyrood voted the same day as the hearing for no hyperscale decisions until national guidance is in place. [S21] [S1] [S3] [S4] [S7] [S8]

Key facts

Status
Decision pending (application submitted) [S21] [S1] [S3] [S4] [S7] [S8]
Decided by
Falkirk Council (planning committee, after a pre-determination hearing) [S3] [S4]
Applicant
Apatura DC Project 5 Ltd [S1] [S6]
Developer or backer
Apatura
References
P/26/0237/FUL
Location
Former farmland beside Glenbervie Business Park, Bellsdyke Road, Larbert; close to Forth Valley Royal Hospital (under 500m per APRS) and a Glenbervie care home [S2] [S3] [S6]
IT capacity
300MW [S6] [S10] [S11]
Site area
18.92 ha [S6] [S10] [S11]
Buildings
Two hyperscale buildings, about 25m high, generator flues about 28m [S6] [S10] [S11]
Investment (claimed)
GBP2.1bn capital expenditure; nearly GBP1bn direct inward investment (claimed by developer) [S6] [S10] [S11]
Backup generators
About 200 diesel backup generators at 3.2MW each (640MW total) per APRS from application documents; diesel storage designed for about 48 hours (Construction Review) [S1] [S6] [S11]
Cooling and water
Closed-loop water cooling with air-cooled chillers (developer documents); campaigners and Scottish Water note water supply concerns [S1] [S6] [S11]
Designations
Air Quality Management Area nearby (per APRS objection) [S1] [S6]
Previous use
Former farmland beside an existing business park [S1] [S6]
Environmental assessment
Application accompanied by an EIA (52-part EIA among 129 documents, per APRS). AECOM, commissioned by Falkirk Council, found inconsistencies on floorspace, parking, construction timescales, employment, backup generation and battery storage connection; clarifications described as normal. [S1] [S6]
Public objections
7166 [S1] [S3] [S4] [S6] [S7] [S9]

Timeline

  1. 29 May 2026
    Application P/26/0237/FUL received by Falkirk Council. [S21]
  2. 4 June 2026
    Application validated. [S21]
  3. 1 July 2026
    APRS objection lodged with Falkirk Council [S2]
  4. 2 July 2026
    Extended public comment deadline (original 25 June) [S1]
  5. 16 September 2026
    Pre-determination hearing, 6pm, Larbert High School; no vote; livestream and sound problems reported; same evening as Holyrood vote [S3] [S5] [S6] [S7]
  6. 16 September 2026
    Scottish Parliament votes that no hyperscale planning decisions be made until national guidance is complete [S7] [S14]
  7. 17 September 2026
    Ministers' EIA direction for all data centres over 50MW comes into force [S17]
  8. 4 October 2026
    Statutory determination deadline (council portal); no agreed extension shown as at 3 October 2026. [S21]

Statutory consultees

BodyPositionDateDetail
SEPAholding objectionReported by APRS as a holding objection (with an annex); Falkirk Herald says SEPA 'submitted reports' for the hearing. Date and grounds not found. No withdrawal found. [S1] [S3]
NHS (NHS Scotland / regional health partnership)objectionAPRS records an NHS Scotland objection; Falkirk Herald reports concerns about omission of generator emissions and noise details, water use, cooling chemicals and cumulative impact. Whether this is a formal objection or comment was not confirmed. No withdrawal found. [S1] [S3]
SGN (Scottish Gas Networks)objectionReported by APRS only: objection citing proximity to a high-pressure gas main. Not seen in any news source. No withdrawal found. [S1]
Scottish Waterno objectionNo objection, but stressed existing users' drinking water takes priority and that the response does not guarantee a connection [S6]

Politicians and organisations

  • Mark Ruskell MSP (Scottish Greens) raised the Larbert determination timetable in the Holyrood debate
  • Say NO to Larbert Data Centre
  • APRS
  • Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (argued generators conflict with emissions targets)
  • Forth Valley Royal Hospital area care home (director raised concerns at hearing)

Claims

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

  • Apatura (the CEO later described 'more than 10,000 net job years'; objectors highlight the inconsistency) (developer): More than 5,000 construction jobs and over 1,300 long-term skilled roles (500+ local); 297 on-site jobs and GBP1.8m a year community benefit [S6] [S10] [S15]
  • APRS, from its analysis of application documents (campaigners): Lifecycle emissions of about 2.37 million tCO2e; 288 tonnes of NOx a year from generator testing; NO2 11-44 times healthy hourly limits in an emergency scenario [S1]
  • Apatura (developer): Closed-loop cooling, first power 2028, 'one of the most advanced data centres in Europe' [S10]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [S1] Apatura Larbert site page (last modified 1 October 2026). APRS, 1 October 2026. Level 6 source.
  2. [S2] APRS objection to Falkirk Council for the Larbert data centre (dated 1 July 2026). APRS, 1 July 2026. Level 6 source.
  3. [S3] Councillors to hear both sides of controversial Larbert AI data centre planning application. Falkirk Herald, 15 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  4. [S4] Hundreds attend special Falkirk Council hearing on hyperscale AI data centre plans. Falkirk Herald, 18 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  5. [S5] Special meeting to hear from both sides of AI data centre plans after 7,000 objections. STV News. Level 4 source.
  6. [S6] What 7,000 Objections at Larbert Tell You About Building Data Centres in the UK. Bricks & Bytes. Level 5 source.
  7. [S7] MSPs reject datacentre moratorium but pause planning decisions. Computer Weekly, 17 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  8. [S8] MSPs back pause on Scottish AI data centre decisions. Resultsense, 18 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  9. [S9] Inside the room as Larbert community confronted AI data centre developers. inkl (syndicated report). Level 4 source.
  10. [S10] Apatura submits plans for Larbert data centre campus. Data Centre News UK, 11 June 2026. Level 5 source.
  11. [S11] Larbert Data Centre Campus: GBP2.1bn plans target Scotland's biggest digital construction scheme. Construction Review Online. Level 5 source.
  12. [S12] Campaigners against Larbert AI data centre plans take message to Falkirk councillors. Falkirk Herald, 31 August 2026. Level 4 source.
  13. [S13] SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT HAVE PAUSED DATA CENTRES - BUT THEY ARE STILL TAKING APPLICATIONS. Aye TV (Substack), 20 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  14. [S14] Parliament votes to pause data centre applications until guidance is in place. APRS, 16 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  15. [S15] Apatura claims almost 2,100 jobs at Scottish data centres. Resultsense, 21 September 2026. Level 5 source.
  16. [S16] Data Centre Map (status table, last updated 13 August 2026). APRS, 13 August 2026. Level 6 source.
  17. [S17] Data centres: Chief Planner Letter and EIA Direction. Scottish Government, 16 September 2026. Level 1 source.
  18. [S18] Data centre planning direction. Scottish Government, 17 August 2026. Level 1 source.
  19. [S19] Minister vows new guidance on AI data centre plans as MSPs reject calls for moratorium. Falkirk Herald, 18 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  20. [S20] What did and didn't happen about AI datacentres at Holyrood. Bella Caledonia, 20 September 2026. Level 6 source.
  21. [S21] Planning application P/26/0237/FUL: summary and important dates. Falkirk Council planning portal. Level 1 source.