Chamber and committees

Hyperscale Data Centres: Amendment 4

Submitted by: Rachael Hamilton, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Motion type: Amendment
Motion reference: S7M-01177.4
Current status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, 16 September 2026

As an amendment to motion S7M-01177 in the name of Patrick Harvie (Hyperscale Data Centres), leave out from “agrees” to end and insert “recognises the potential economic benefits of investment in data centres and the opportunities that they can provide for Scotland’s AI and digital economy; acknowledges the need to consider the cumulative impacts of such developments and the importance of ensuring that communities hosting major energy and digital infrastructure can share in the benefits of investment; regrets that the Scottish Government has failed to provide clear national guidance despite the growing number of proposed developments; calls on the Scottish Government to publish updated planning guidance, including a clear definition of a green data centre and to ensure that impacts on energy resilience and rural communities are properly assessed; rejects the introduction of a blanket moratorium on new hyperscale data centres, which risks deterring investment from Scotland, and calls on Scottish Ministers, pending the introduction of updated guidance, to use their existing Environmental Impact Assessment screening direction powers when considering on hyperscale data centre applications, to provide greater protection for communities and greater certainty for local authorities and developers.”