EDINBURGH SOUTH WEST OPEN LETTER AGAINST AI DATA CENTRE
The Issue
THIS IS ABOUT PROTECTING WESTER HERMISTON’S GREEN BELT & RESOURCES
Our Green Belt | Our Air | Our Water | Our Food | Our Future
An Open Letter to:
Dr Scott Arthur MP
Westminster MP for Edinburgh South West
Simita Kumar MSP
Constituency MSP for Edinburgh South Western
From the Residents, Community Groups and Voters of Edinburgh South West
The opportunity to protect Wester Hermiston is now
The Scottish Parliament has now recognised the need for a national approach to the rapidly expanding number of hyperscale data-centre proposals across Scotland.
The Scottish Government is developing new national planning and spatial guidance for data centres. We believe this creates an important opportunity to ensure that no hyperscale development is determined before that framework is complete and its requirements are properly applied.
For Wester Hermiston, this is particularly important.
Apatura is proposing a 200MW hyperscale AI data centre across approximately 30.5 hectares (77 acres) of Green Belt and Class 2 Prime Agricultural Land under Proposal of Application Notice 25/03978/PAN.
The Scottish Government has already required a full Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposal.
We are therefore asking our elected representatives to ensure that Wester Hermiston is not allowed to move ahead of the national planning framework now being developed.
Why Wester Hermiston matters:
OUR GREEN BELT
The proposed development would transform approximately 30.5 hectares of open Green Belt into a large industrial campus comprising data halls, substations, cooling infrastructure, security fencing and associated infrastructure.
This would permanently alter the rural setting of West Edinburgh.
We ask our representatives to ensure that NPF4 Policy 8 on Green Belt is fully applied and that the national framework establishes clear rules governing where hyperscale data centres can be located.
OUR FOOD
The site contains Class 2 Prime Agricultural Land, one of Scotland's most valuable agricultural resources.
NPF4 Policy 5 provides specific protection for prime agricultural land.
Before irreversible development takes place, we believe Apatura should be required to demonstrate transparently why suitable brownfield or previously developed alternatives cannot accommodate the proposal.
OUR ENERGY
A continuous 200MW electricity requirement represents an exceptionally large demand on the electricity system.
West Edinburgh is simultaneously facing growing electricity requirements from housing, heat pumps, electric vehicles and wider decarbonisation.
The question is therefore not simply whether a grid connection can be obtained. It is whether Scotland has a strategic plan for allocating scarce grid capacity between competing national and local priorities.
OUR WATER
A hyperscale AI facility requires substantial cooling infrastructure and associated water management.
We need transparent information about:
average and peak water consumption;
water availability during periods of scarcity;
cooling systems and chemical additives;
wastewater and trade-effluent arrangements; and
potential cumulative effects on local watercourses.
These matters should be assessed as part of the national framework rather than dealt with piecemeal through individual applications.
OUR AIR AND HEALTH
The proposed development requires substantial backup-generation infrastructure.
Testing and emergency operation of diesel generators can produce nitrogen oxides and particulate emissions.
The development would also introduce continuous cooling, electrical and mechanical plant close to existing homes.
The EIA should therefore properly assess noise, low-frequency sound, vibration and any relevant infrasound, alongside air-quality impacts and cumulative effects on nearby residents.
OUR CUMULATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE
Wester Hermiston cannot reasonably be considered in isolation from the rapidly developing West Edinburgh area.
Major developments and infrastructure proposals are also planned or progressing nearby, including:
Redheughs Village, with approximately 1,300 proposed homes;
the Parabola 43-acre development at Edinburgh Park;
Edinburgh Airport's continuing expansion and associated growth in aviation activity;
the M8 and City Bypass transport corridors; and
wider electrification of transport and heating.
All of these developments have demands for energy, water, transport infrastructure and environmental capacity.
The national planning framework must consider how these demands interact rather than assessing each project independently.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES
This is a constituency issue that should transcend party politics.
We ask Simita Kumar MSP to:
1. Support the community's request for withdrawal
Publicly support the communities of Ratho, Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Hermiston in calling on Apatura to withdraw 25/03978/PAN.
2. Ensure Wester Hermiston is covered by the national pause
Press Scottish Ministers to ensure that the proposal cannot be determined before the new national planning and spatial guidance for data centres has been completed.
3. Demand rigorous EIA scrutiny
Ensure that the Wester Hermiston EIA properly examines cumulative impacts, including energy, water, air quality, noise, low-frequency sound/infrasound, biodiversity, agricultural land and infrastructure capacity.
4. Protect NPF4 principles
Ensure that the new national framework provides clear and enforceable protection for prime agricultural land, Green Belt, water resources and local communities.
We ask Dr Scott Arthur MP to:
1. Publicly support the community's withdrawal request
Endorse the joint request from the West Edinburgh communities and Community Councils asking Apatura to withdraw 25/03978/PAN.
2. Press for national planning clarity
Continue pressing Scottish Ministers to establish clear national rules before hyperscale data-centre applications are determined.
3. Raise questions over energy and infrastructure capacity
Ask the UK Government, Ofgem, NESO and relevant network operators how the cumulative electricity requirements of Scotland's proposed hyperscale data centres will interact with housing, transport electrification, heat pumps and other net-zero infrastructure.
4. Raise questions over cumulative West Edinburgh impacts
Ensure that the combined infrastructure implications of data centres, new housing, Edinburgh Airport expansion, Edinburgh Park and the M8/City Bypass corridor are properly considered.
OUR MESSAGE
This is not an argument against AI, technology or investment in Scotland.
It is an argument for making major infrastructure decisions strategically, transparently and on the basis of proper evidence.
Scotland is developing its national planning framework for hyperscale data centres now.
There is therefore a clear opportunity to pause decisions, establish the rules and then assess individual proposals against those rules.
Wester Hermiston should not be allowed to become a test case for a planning framework that is still being developed.
OUR PETITION REQUEST
We call on Dr Scott Arthur MP and Simita Kumar MSP to stand with the communities of West Edinburgh, support our request to Apatura to withdraw Proposal 25/03978/PAN, and press Scottish Ministers to ensure that Wester Hermiston is not determined until Scotland's new national planning and spatial framework for hyperscale data centres is complete.
RESIDENT ENDORSEMENT
“I am an Edinburgh South West resident. I support this petition and call on Dr Scott Arthur MP and Simita Kumar MSP to stand with the communities of Juniper Green, Balerno, Currie, Ratho and Hermiston, support our request for Apatura to withdraw the Wester Hermiston proposal, and press Scottish Ministers to ensure that it is not determined until clear national planning guidance and robust environmental standards for hyperscale data centres are in place.”
477
The Issue
THIS IS ABOUT PROTECTING WESTER HERMISTON’S GREEN BELT & RESOURCES
Our Green Belt | Our Air | Our Water | Our Food | Our Future
An Open Letter to:
Dr Scott Arthur MP
Westminster MP for Edinburgh South West
Simita Kumar MSP
Constituency MSP for Edinburgh South Western
From the Residents, Community Groups and Voters of Edinburgh South West
The opportunity to protect Wester Hermiston is now
The Scottish Parliament has now recognised the need for a national approach to the rapidly expanding number of hyperscale data-centre proposals across Scotland.
The Scottish Government is developing new national planning and spatial guidance for data centres. We believe this creates an important opportunity to ensure that no hyperscale development is determined before that framework is complete and its requirements are properly applied.
For Wester Hermiston, this is particularly important.
Apatura is proposing a 200MW hyperscale AI data centre across approximately 30.5 hectares (77 acres) of Green Belt and Class 2 Prime Agricultural Land under Proposal of Application Notice 25/03978/PAN.
The Scottish Government has already required a full Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposal.
We are therefore asking our elected representatives to ensure that Wester Hermiston is not allowed to move ahead of the national planning framework now being developed.
Why Wester Hermiston matters:
OUR GREEN BELT
The proposed development would transform approximately 30.5 hectares of open Green Belt into a large industrial campus comprising data halls, substations, cooling infrastructure, security fencing and associated infrastructure.
This would permanently alter the rural setting of West Edinburgh.
We ask our representatives to ensure that NPF4 Policy 8 on Green Belt is fully applied and that the national framework establishes clear rules governing where hyperscale data centres can be located.
OUR FOOD
The site contains Class 2 Prime Agricultural Land, one of Scotland's most valuable agricultural resources.
NPF4 Policy 5 provides specific protection for prime agricultural land.
Before irreversible development takes place, we believe Apatura should be required to demonstrate transparently why suitable brownfield or previously developed alternatives cannot accommodate the proposal.
OUR ENERGY
A continuous 200MW electricity requirement represents an exceptionally large demand on the electricity system.
West Edinburgh is simultaneously facing growing electricity requirements from housing, heat pumps, electric vehicles and wider decarbonisation.
The question is therefore not simply whether a grid connection can be obtained. It is whether Scotland has a strategic plan for allocating scarce grid capacity between competing national and local priorities.
OUR WATER
A hyperscale AI facility requires substantial cooling infrastructure and associated water management.
We need transparent information about:
average and peak water consumption;
water availability during periods of scarcity;
cooling systems and chemical additives;
wastewater and trade-effluent arrangements; and
potential cumulative effects on local watercourses.
These matters should be assessed as part of the national framework rather than dealt with piecemeal through individual applications.
OUR AIR AND HEALTH
The proposed development requires substantial backup-generation infrastructure.
Testing and emergency operation of diesel generators can produce nitrogen oxides and particulate emissions.
The development would also introduce continuous cooling, electrical and mechanical plant close to existing homes.
The EIA should therefore properly assess noise, low-frequency sound, vibration and any relevant infrasound, alongside air-quality impacts and cumulative effects on nearby residents.
OUR CUMULATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE
Wester Hermiston cannot reasonably be considered in isolation from the rapidly developing West Edinburgh area.
Major developments and infrastructure proposals are also planned or progressing nearby, including:
Redheughs Village, with approximately 1,300 proposed homes;
the Parabola 43-acre development at Edinburgh Park;
Edinburgh Airport's continuing expansion and associated growth in aviation activity;
the M8 and City Bypass transport corridors; and
wider electrification of transport and heating.
All of these developments have demands for energy, water, transport infrastructure and environmental capacity.
The national planning framework must consider how these demands interact rather than assessing each project independently.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES
This is a constituency issue that should transcend party politics.
We ask Simita Kumar MSP to:
1. Support the community's request for withdrawal
Publicly support the communities of Ratho, Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Hermiston in calling on Apatura to withdraw 25/03978/PAN.
2. Ensure Wester Hermiston is covered by the national pause
Press Scottish Ministers to ensure that the proposal cannot be determined before the new national planning and spatial guidance for data centres has been completed.
3. Demand rigorous EIA scrutiny
Ensure that the Wester Hermiston EIA properly examines cumulative impacts, including energy, water, air quality, noise, low-frequency sound/infrasound, biodiversity, agricultural land and infrastructure capacity.
4. Protect NPF4 principles
Ensure that the new national framework provides clear and enforceable protection for prime agricultural land, Green Belt, water resources and local communities.
We ask Dr Scott Arthur MP to:
1. Publicly support the community's withdrawal request
Endorse the joint request from the West Edinburgh communities and Community Councils asking Apatura to withdraw 25/03978/PAN.
2. Press for national planning clarity
Continue pressing Scottish Ministers to establish clear national rules before hyperscale data-centre applications are determined.
3. Raise questions over energy and infrastructure capacity
Ask the UK Government, Ofgem, NESO and relevant network operators how the cumulative electricity requirements of Scotland's proposed hyperscale data centres will interact with housing, transport electrification, heat pumps and other net-zero infrastructure.
4. Raise questions over cumulative West Edinburgh impacts
Ensure that the combined infrastructure implications of data centres, new housing, Edinburgh Airport expansion, Edinburgh Park and the M8/City Bypass corridor are properly considered.
OUR MESSAGE
This is not an argument against AI, technology or investment in Scotland.
It is an argument for making major infrastructure decisions strategically, transparently and on the basis of proper evidence.
Scotland is developing its national planning framework for hyperscale data centres now.
There is therefore a clear opportunity to pause decisions, establish the rules and then assess individual proposals against those rules.
Wester Hermiston should not be allowed to become a test case for a planning framework that is still being developed.
OUR PETITION REQUEST
We call on Dr Scott Arthur MP and Simita Kumar MSP to stand with the communities of West Edinburgh, support our request to Apatura to withdraw Proposal 25/03978/PAN, and press Scottish Ministers to ensure that Wester Hermiston is not determined until Scotland's new national planning and spatial framework for hyperscale data centres is complete.
RESIDENT ENDORSEMENT
“I am an Edinburgh South West resident. I support this petition and call on Dr Scott Arthur MP and Simita Kumar MSP to stand with the communities of Juniper Green, Balerno, Currie, Ratho and Hermiston, support our request for Apatura to withdraw the Wester Hermiston proposal, and press Scottish Ministers to ensure that it is not determined until clear national planning guidance and robust environmental standards for hyperscale data centres are in place.”
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on 25 August 2026