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Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year

16 Sep 2026, 18:28 GMT By Patrick Greenfield
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Photo Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year
Credit: Patrick Greenfield

MSPs vote for strict environmental impact assessments and will delay decisions until national strategy is developed Holyrood has voted to pause planning applications for all new AI datacentres for up to a year until the Scottish government has developed a national strategy. On Wednesday, MSPs backed a Scottish Labour motion to halt new schemes for up to 12 months while rules on hyperscale datacentres are developed in what could be a blow to the British government’s AI strategy. Continue reading...