Apatura has submitted plans to Falkirk Council for a 300MW data centre campus in Larbert, representing almost GBP £1 billion of direct investment in Scotland.
The application covers a 55-acre site at Glenbervie Business Park on Bellsdyke Road, on land owned by Scottish Enterprise and allocated for business and industry use. Falkirk Council has accepted the full planning application, which outlines a large data centre south of the M876.
If approved, the Larbert Data Centre Campus would support more than 5,000 jobs a year during construction and more than 1,300 long-term skilled jobs once operational. More than 500 of those long-term roles would be local, with a predicted average annual salary of GBP £56,000.
First power and operations are scheduled for 2028, supported by confirmed grid connections. The project would also connect to Apatura's consented battery energy storage site two miles to the north.
Site details
Larbert is the latest Scottish data centre site being advanced by the Edinburgh and York-based developer. Apatura disclosed plans for another large data centre at Ravenscraig last year and expects to submit a planning application for that project this summer.
The Larbert scheme follows public consultation in the local area, including two events at Glenbervie House. Residents shared views on community development and green space improvements that could be reflected in later stages of the project.
The application comes as data centre investment gathers pace in Scotland, where developers are seeking sites with access to grid capacity and renewable electricity. Government planning policy now designates green data centres as essential infrastructure of national importance.
Apatura chose the Larbert site for its location and grid links to the nearby Denny substation. It also highlighted transport connections and proximity to research and education centres in central Scotland.
Commenting on the proposal, Giles Hanglin, Chief Executive Officer of Apatura Energy, said: "We have been working very closely with landowner Scottish Enterprise, Falkirk Council's Inward Investment Team, as well as individuals and organisations in the Falkirk area to ensure our proposals dovetail with the local development plan and will make a sustainable and positive long-term contribution to families and businesses in the area.
"The Larbert site has been selected for its strategic position and strong grid connectivity to the nearby Denny substation, making it ideally placed to meet Scotland's growing demand for secure, critical and high-capacity digital infrastructure.
"Our plan is to make the Larbert Data Centre Campus home to one of the most advanced data centres in Europe. Its proximity to transport connections and key research, education and innovation hubs makes it an ideal location. Our site is also only 20 miles northeast of the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, designated by the UK government. If approved, our Larbert project would cement central Scotland's growing reputation as a global destination for investment in this fast-moving new technology."
Economic case
Scottish Enterprise, which owns the land, welcomed the scale of the proposal and the jobs attached to it. The agency has been working with the developer as the plans have taken shape.
"As Scotland's national economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise welcomes the ambition and scale of the proposed investment and the opportunities it could create," said Victoria Carmichael, Director of Property, Growth Infrastructure and Major Projects at Scottish Enterprise.
The project is part of a broader pipeline of Scottish sites that Apatura is advancing across the central belt. It has more than 1.6GW of confirmed grid connections behind those sites, with nine data centre locations across the region and 2.4GW of Gate 2-compliant grid connections in total.
That wider build-out reflects growing interest in Scotland as a location for data centres powered by renewable electricity. At an industry conference in Glasgow in May, National Energy System Operator Chief Executive Officer Fintan Slye said locating data centres in Scotland, where renewable energy is plentiful, could help lower consumer bills.
Apatura said the Larbert scheme is intended to align with the principles in the industry charter Delivering green data centres in Scotland. Those principles include maximising the use of renewable electricity, making the site district heat-ready and reducing water use.
Hanglin said the company was continuing to engage with local groups as the plans develop. "Our proposal meets all the core principles set out in the recently launched industry charter Delivering green data centres in Scotland, including maximising the use of renewable electricity, making the site district heat-ready and minimising water use.
"We remain in contact with a number of community organisations in the Falkirk area to ensure our plans evolve in tandem with the local community's aspirations."