Over 14,000 responses to plans for massive Auchtertool data centre

ILI Cato Limited are seeking planning permission in principle for a data centre campus on land to the north-west of the village.

The proposals include a complex of data hall buildings – which could be as high as 35 metres (around 114 feet) – as well as electricity substations, security fencing, gatehouses and other infrastructure.

The company says the project would provide essential infrastructure across the Scottish Central Belt where IT services can be delivered in close proximity to the majority of end users, and where sufficient land electrical connection and renewable energy supply are available.

However the plans have brought widespread concern.

Hundreds of people packed into Auchtertool Village Hall in June for a meeting to discuss the application.

Earlier this month, SEPA placed a “holding objection” and called for the proposals to be delayed until more information on flooding is provided.

The deadline for objections/representations to the planning application passed on Friday and while over 1,200 are available for viewing on Fife Council’s website, the local authority has confirmed that many more were lodged.

Pam Ewen, Head of Planning, Climate & Sustainability Service said: “All responses received by the deadline for the receipt of representations on July 24, 2026 will be assessed and considered by the case officer, and the issues raised addressed in the Report of Handling which will set out the reasoning for the planning decision.

“While there is no requirement in planning legislation to make representations public, Fife Council Planning, Climate and Sustainability Services has for many years considered this an important part of the service it provides to ensure openness and transparency.

“Each item of correspondence however needs to be checked to ensure compliance with data protection legislation, and this inevitably builds in a time delay from receipt to when it appears online. In most cases this usually takes a few days.

“In this case due to the significant level of public interest in this application, approximately 14-16 thousand individual representations have been received to date, and this has resulted in delays in processing the representations before the documents can be made public.

“Nevertheless, some ten thousand documents have already been processed, and these are being worked on to make these public as soon as possible.

“The representations received will all be available on the public site over the next few weeks; this will still be well before the application progresses to a decision.”