Data centre: Fife Council defend’s EIA decision branded ‘appalling’ and ‘unfathomable’

A Fife MSP also branded the decision “unfathomable” as local reaction against the huge project saw over 200 people pack a public meeting earlier this week.

ILI Cato Limited is seeking planning permission in principle for a data centre campus on land to the north-west of the village. The proposals include a complex of data hall buildings – which could be as high as 35 metres – as well as electricity substations, security fencing, gatehouses and other infrastructure.

At a public meeting in Auchtertool Village Hall on Wednesday night, Andrea Cail, chair, questioned the decision not to ask for an EIA which is part of the early planning process to assess any likely significant environmental effects. It can cover everything from pollution to biodiversity.

“We were aware they had put in a screening assessment and it was up to the council as to whether the EIA was required,” she said.

“Currently data centres are not listed in the schedule one of EIA regulations. They are in schedule two so it is the decision of local authorities as to whether they conduct one.

“The council determined it is not likely to be required - that the proposals have no significant effects on the environment and therefore would not constitute the EIA and that environmental matters such as drainage, noise, ecology can be addressed through the normal planning process.”

The decision has led the community council to consider legal action against the council.

“We were appalled at that decision and we contacted, after lots of discussion, the Environmental Rights Centre Scotland to give us an opinion.

“It suggested that the case we had was solid. We have a credible legal basis for a challenge.”

The community council now faces the issue of “significant” costs to mount any challenge, and time is also against it - any submission needed to be made by around the end of June.

Mark Ruskell, Scottish Greens MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said he could not see how the planning application could be determined without an EIA.

Describing Fife Council’s decision as “unfathomable” he added: “The Scottish Government should step in for that, I think ultimately this should head towards a public enquiry. We need to make sure all the evidence is available.

“The very least Fife Council should be doing is requiring a proper environmental assessment of the Auchtertool proposal. Instead communities are being left to guess what the impact will be of living next to one of the biggest data centres in the world.”

The council defended its decision, and said the lack of an EIA did not mean environmental issues were being ignored.

Mary Stewart, service manager, said not all large developments require an EIA - and legislation sets out specific types of development and the circumstances in which one is required.

“In this case, and in line with these regulations, Fife Council has carried out an assessment to determine whether the predicted environmental effects are significant enough to require an EIA,” she said. “The proposal has been assessed against the criteria set out in the regulations and it has been concluded that an EIA is not required.

“However, the absence of an EIA does not mean that environmental matters are not considered. Supporting information must still be submitted as part of the normal planning application to enable the assessment of the environmental impacts of the development. This includes issues such as landscape, visual impact, noise and ecology.

“Alongside consultation responses from statutory consultees and third parties, these will inform the detailed assessment and subsequent determination of the planning application.”