This is about Protecting Wester Hermiston’s Greenbelt & Resources - Our Air, Our Water, Our Greenbelt

A joint letter to:

Dr Scott Arthur MP (Westminster MP for Edinburgh South West) AND Simita Kumar MSP (Constituency MSP for Edinburgh South Western & Scottish Government Minister)

From the Residents, Community Groups, and Voters of Edinburgh South West

Context: Current Legal Status of Wester Hermiston

While Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad recently mandated a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed 200MW Wester Hermiston data centre and instituted a 7-day national notification rule. The nearby Edinburgh Gyle Hyperscale AI Data Centre proposal which was officially recalled for central government decision. This critical window allows our elected representatives to intervene and show their support for a moratorium.

Our Core Concerns:

 Environmental & Infrastructure Risks

We oppose converting 30 hectares of Grade 2 prime agricultural land into a hyperscale AI data centre on an industrial scale due to the incurable impacts on our community:

NPF4 Policy Breaches:

Building on high-yield soil directly violates National Planning Framework 4 (Policies 4 and 5), compromising regional food production and greenbelt biodiversity.

Energy & Hydrological Strain:

 The massive need for continuous grid capacity diverts electricity away from essential public needs, while intensive cooling infrastructure threatens drinking water abstraction and thermal pollution in local watercourses.

Public Health Hazards:

Massive backup generator arrays introduce localised NOx and particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution during routine testing, while 24/7 complex cooling systems create continuous low-frequency infrasound and acoustic stress for nearby homes and natural habitat

Unified Cross-party Action is Requested

This is a constituency-wide priority that transcends party politics. We urge both of our elected representatives to coordinate across parliaments and take action:

Specific Requests for Simita Kumar MSP (Holyrood Constituency MSP & Minister):

Publicly Support A Moratorium: Support a moratorium on all data centres in Scotland until it can be determined what a green data centre is.

Enforce NPF4 Mandates: Demand strict adherence to National Planning Framework 4 protections governing prime agricultural land and greenbelt preservation.

Scrutinise Environmental Impact: Require full ministerial scrutiny on cumulative acoustic, hydrological, and air quality harms highlighted in the EIA process.

Specific Requests for Dr Scott Arthur MP (Westminster MP):

Endorse the Moratorium Demand: Publicly endorse a moratorium on hyperscale data centre sprawl.

Challenge Grid Resource Allocation:

Raise formal parliamentary inquiries into why 200MW of regional base-load energy is being allocated to private data infrastructure during a national net-zero transition.

Back Ministerial Intervention: 

Align publicly with constituency calls urging Scottish Ministers to issue a total planning refusal

Expose Infrastructure Pressures: 

Highlight the cumulative strain this development places on Edinburgh’s regional energy, water, and road networks.

We ask for your support for a moratorium or pause in planning, so that the impacts (individually and cumulatively) can be thoroughly and independently assessed, a strategic approach can be taken, and that these inform new national planning policy and planning guidance.

We have an opportunity to halt this hyperscale data centre rush and take a considered and strategic approach to the holistic needs of our country - consequences and unintended consequences will take decades to redress. 

Resident Endorsement Statement

"I am an Edinburgh South West resident. I support this open letter and call on Dr Scott Arthur MP and Simita Kumar MSP to use their respective parliamentary roles to press Scottish Ministers to intervene and stop the Wester Hermiston Hyperscale AI data centre proposal for the good of our community. "