TL;DR
Developer Apatura has held two webinars on its hyperscale AI data centre plan for Larbert, and campaigners told the Falkirk Herald on 5 November that nothing has changed their minds. Falkirk Council has received more than 7,000 objections. For other UK developers, the dispute is a live example of how a consultation’s format can itself become a grievance.
What Apatura said
The company took questions over two nights, one session for near neighbours and one for the wider council area. Asked why Larbert, development director Fraser Blackwood pointed to a direct power connection at Denny Substation and a battery storage site Apatura already owns in Plean. He added that Apatura will not run the site, and that it is talking to an experienced operator it did not name in this report.
Answers on the main complaints were specific in places. Cooling would use a closed loop, needing 5.9 million litres to fill once, with occasional top-ups, and the firm says that would be a planning condition. The most contested element is more than 200 back-up diesel generators. Blackwood said Apatura wants to reduce both their number and their testing hours, though no new figure was reported. A health impact screening has gone to the council and is due to be published.
The economic case comes from consultants Glic: 297 jobs on site, 218 more in the wider economy, and £2.3 billion of investment. These are estimates put forward in support of the plan, not independent findings. A community fund would generate £1.8 million a year, Apatura said.
Why residents remain opposed
Objectors point to the site’s neighbours, including a care home and a nearby hospital. Hazel McQueen, who lives 20 metres from the boundary, described “a long, one-way presentation” over two nights. “This didn’t feel like community consultation,” McQueen said, adding that the group’s opposition would not change.
The dispute sits inside a wider Scottish argument. We have followed it through the Holyrood debate on a data centre pause and a minister’s defence of the planning system.
Looking Forward
The decision remains with the planning process. In our view, the sessions show a gap that developers elsewhere should note: giving technical answers to questions submitted online does not meet residents’ expectation of being able to challenge those answers. The published health screening and any firm reduction in generator numbers are the next concrete tests.