Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
19 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Data Centres (Regulatory Framework)
The cabinet secretary has outlined some of the safeguards in the current regulatory framework. A massive data centre proposed in Edinburgh would be similar in size to—and occupy as much land as—the entire ground at Murrayfield stadium. Will the Scottish Government make representations to ensure that a full environmental impact assessment is carried out? That is what communities are calling for, considering the planned diesel backup generators, the impact on air quality and the location of the site on greenbelt land within the Gogar special landscape area.
In the same item of business
3. Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the regulatory framework currently in place to monitor the development and operation of data ce...
The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy (Gillian Martin)
SNP
Scotland benefits from a robust, although complex, regulatory and policy landscape that applies to data centre development. Under national planning framework...
Sarah Boyack
Lab
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has warned that, although the draft climate change plan outlines a range of policies that are aimed at increasing energy generati...
Gillian Martin
SNP
I really like hearing examples of planning decisions that lead to co-location. Data centres need cooling and our homes and public buildings need heating, so ...
Sue Webber (Lothian) (Con)
Con
The cabinet secretary has outlined some of the safeguards in the current regulatory framework. A massive data centre proposed in Edinburgh would be similar i...
Gillian Martin
SNP
Sue Webber will know that I cannot comment on planning applications. However, it is important to note that, if a site does require an environmental impact as...