Giant data centre plans lodged at old Chapelcross nuclear site

A local campaign has been launched against the plans, with the Scottish government expected to publish national guidance for local authorities on such projects within the next three months.

About 1,000 people have signed a petition against the scheme claiming it could put strain on the energy grid and see household bills “rocket”.

It also raised fears that countryside views could be “obstructed and destroyed by the massive data centre and associated operations”.

Campaigners have described the “large scale industrialisation” of the area as “unacceptable”.

They have also raised concerns about the loss of agricultural land and woodland.

Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) said the data centre’s capacity, at 1000MW, was bigger than any data centre currently operating in the world.

It said that the majority of the scheme would be on greenfield and not brownfield land.

It has also raised further areas of concern including air pollution, waste and climate impacts and has questioned the employment claims.

APRS added that the energy needs of the centre would be equivalent to about 2.2m households.