THE company behind plans to create a ‘data centre campus’ near Ochiltree will have to carry out an assessment of the project’s environmental impact, council planners have ruled.

Applicants Apatura wrote to East Ayrshire Council (EAC) last month asking for an ‘screening opinion’ on its plans for the site near the former Killoch colliery.

Apatura’s plans include a flexible data centre campus, including ancillary offices and employment floorspace, as well as internal and external plant and equipment and emergency backup generators and associated fuel storage.

The development, if approved, is expected to have total footprint of 45,000 square metres and could be split over one or two storeys.

Apatura says it would take around three years to complete the full centre and safeguarding would be in place to protect as much of the area’s natural landscape as possible.

In their letter to Apatura, EAC officials said: “The planning authority is required to provide and record a formal screening opinion based upon an assessment of the location, nature, purpose and possible effects of the development.

“Based on this assessment it is the opinion of the planning authority that an environmental impact assessment report is required.

“The site currently consists of greenfield agricultural land and therefore the proposal would constitute a large scale development of a currently undeveloped site.

“The scale of the proposed built structures would be out of character for the area in terms of their scale and design. Given the number of industrial-type developments currently proposed and consented in the area, this has potential to significantly impact upon the character of the rural area.

“Given the open, rural nature of the landscape there is potential for the development to be highly visible and to impact upon the landscape character of the area.”

The site is bordered to the south by the former Killoch colliery site, which is still in industrial use, currently housing concrete and asphalt supplier Breedon and the Barr Environmental waste management operation.

The council’s report also points out that the site is, at its closest point, less than 10 metres from the location of a proposed ‘battery energy storage system’ at Westport, for which an EIA screening request was previously submitted to the Scottish Government.

It continues: “Given the proximity and in conjunction with the existing Killoch site, there are likely to be significant cumulative impacts of these developments particularly with regards to visual, landscape and amenity impacts.

“In addition, there may be significant cumulative construction impacts, should construction overlap at all, particularly in respect of construction traffic using Creoch Road.  

“Additionally, given the Coylton substation and BESS sites around 1.5km to the southwest, this proposed development could contribute to an overall overdevelopment of the area.

In their initial proposals, submitted to the council last month, Apatura said the proposals would “make a nationally significant contribution” to Scotland, and added: “The proposed development will take approximately three years to complete once the construction phase commences.

“The proposed development will be modest and appropriately contained within the context of the subject site, and no significant effects are anticipated to arise as a result of the proposed development’s scale, size or design.”  

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