Edinburgh Council to request AI data centre ban from Scottish Government

Edinburgh council’s planning committee agreed to formally ask the Scottish Government for a moratorium on new data centres until a definition of 'green data centre' is decided on (Image: City of Edinburgh Council)

EDINBURGH Council will not pursue a temporary ban on AI data centre development, but will instead request a moratorium from the Scottish Government after a report found it would be legally and practically difficult for the local authority to impose one.

The council initially voted in favour of pursuing a ban in March after plans for a 600MW data centre in South Gyle were rejected , with councillors telling the developer that the application did not make clear how it would meet certain thresholds for local frameworks and that its environmental impact was not clear.