The Scottish government is poised to consider a sweeping moratorium on new datacentres, a move that could undermine a key component of the UK's artificial intelligence strategy. The Scottish National Party (SNP) national council passed a motion on 24 June to freeze all new datacentre developments in Scotland, and it has been forwarded to the Scottish government for deliberation.
The moratorium would apply to all datacentre projects that have not yet secured planning permission, though the exact scope rests with the Scottish government. Lesley Backhouse, a local councillor from a constituency that proposed the motion, described the current plans as "overdevelopment" that is "intrusive and not keeping with the local environment."
Background of the Motion
The move follows a Guardian report revealing that developers and the UK government misrepresented the technical feasibility of a massive datacentre hub in Lanarkshire, a site designated as an "AI growth zone." Communities feared their land would be consumed by the development without the promised jobs and investment materialising.
The SNP resolution emerges amid broader upheaval in UK AI strategy, as Andy Burnham prepares to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. Burnham is reportedly considering a review of several critical elements of Starmer's technology policy. The Guardian previously reported that an AI growth zone in North Tyneside was more a publicity stunt than a viable project, despite being backed by OpenAI. Several other UK AI projects have been labelled "phantom investments" after the government failed to audit investment or job claims.
Impact on UK AI Strategy
Scottish parliament member Graham Simpson, representing North Lanarkshire, stated: "I don't think anyone is arguing that we should not have any datacentres in the UK or Scotland. But there needs to be a proper piece of work at the government level to decide how many the country needs and what is our capacity for them, in terms of our resources."
A moratorium in Scotland could strike at the heart of the UK's AI strategy, which has promoted Scotland as a prime location for datacentres due to its abundant renewable energy. The SNP resolution notes that 24 "hyperscale" datacentre projects are in various planning stages in Scotland, and combined they would consume more than one-and-a-half times Scotland's peak electricity demand.
Reactions from Officials
Backhouse reiterated the community's stance: "It is extreme overdevelopment. I'm very supportive of the local community and their endeavours to prevent this from happening." Meanwhile, Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons science and technology select committee, criticised the UK's broader AI investment strategy as "very opportunistic" without a proper plan for sovereignty. She described the process as "X or Y or Z says they're going to invest [and so] we'll take that as part of an investment plan and then the investments aren't realised."
Onwurah also said the Starmer government's AI growth zones lacked a comprehensive place-based strategy to ensure benefits were felt locally. Her committee called on the next government to protect UK sovereignty in AI, warning that the White House's temporary export ban on Anthropic's technology "should be a powerful reminder that the UK may not be able to count on even its allies for access to vital technology."
Details of the Sovereign AI Fund
The call for sovereignty came as the government released details of nine companies supported under the £500 million Sovereign AI Fund, launched in April. A freedom of information response revealed that four of the nine companies awarded cash investments and access to government supercomputers in Bristol and Cambridge are ultimately controlled by American firms.
This article was amended on 7 July 2026 to clarify that Lesley Backhouse is a councillor from one of the constituencies that put forward the motion, not an attendee of the national council meeting.
