Today, we have unveiled details of our community benefit funds for each data centre campus.
By committing £6,000 annually for every megawatt (MW) of capacity at each of our data centre developments, we will deliver almost £10 million per year to communities across Scotland’s central belt.
The package would apply across all Apatura’s proposed data centre sites, including those currently in planning such as Larbert, or pre-application such as Ravenscraig, Wester Hermiston near Edinburgh, Freeport West Lothian, and Westerhill in East Dunbartonshire. It will also apply to projects at an earlier stage of development in North Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, Lanarkshire and South Ayrshire.
While no recognised community benefit standard currently exists for data centres, we have adopted £6,000 per MW per annum based on the Scottish Government’s proposed benchmark for onshore wind developments. The company believes this provides a transparent, independently referenced approach that reflects the scale of investment in major data centre projects.
Depending on each site’s capacity, this would result in between £600,000 and £3.3 million per year going to local communities, with each fund index linked.
Community focused
Local priorities would shape what each fund supports and could include new community facilities, improved parks and public spaces, schools and skills programmes, apprenticeships, investments in sport and leisure facilities, enhanced biodiversity and green spaces, improved local transport connections, or support projects that reduce fuel poverty or make use of low-carbon heat generated by the developments.
Altogether, the independently administered funds would provide approximately £9.6 million every year across the five sites currently in planning.
Data centres offer a unique opportunity to form an important part of Scotland’s economic and digital infrastructure, bringing jobs and significant inward investment, but we recognise that their growth also raises legitimate questions and concerns.
Meaningful community support
We do not expect communities simply to accept major new infrastructure because it offers national economic benefits. The communities hosting these developments must also see a lasting and tangible benefit locally through long-term skilled jobs, and meaningful community support.
That is why we are proposing independently administered community benefit funds across all five of our priority sites*. Based on the current capacities, these funds could provide almost £10 million a year for locally determined priorities.
Community benefit funds cannot, on their own, answer every concern about data centres. People want to understand their impact on energy, water, the environment and the places in which they live. Fortunately, Scotland benefits from an extremely rigorous planning system that puts local authorities at the centre of decision-making, supported by a range of expert statutory authorities, so they can examine each concern in detail.
We are wholly committed to this approach, and each of our proposals has been designed to meet the core principles set out in the industry charter, Delivering sustainable data centres in Scotland, including maximising the use of renewable electricity, and making our sites district heat ready.
We hope this significant financial commitment demonstrates our willingness to respond to local needs and to help create lasting community benefit over the long term.
Community benefit across five Scottish locations
On the basis of the currently proposed capacities, our community benefit package would comprise:
- Larbert Data Centre Campus, Falkirk: 300MW data centre generating a community benefit of £1.8 million a year.
- Ravenscraig Data Centre Campus, North Lanarkshire: 550MW data centre, generating a community benefit of £3.3 million a year.
- Wester Hermiston Data Centre Campus, City of Edinburgh: 200MW data centre, generating a community benefit of £1.2 million a year.
- Freeport West Lothian Data Centre Campus: 250MW data centre, generating a community benefit of £1.5 million a year.
- Westerhill Data Centre Campus, East Dunbartonshire: 300MW data centre, generating a community benefit of £1.8 million a year.
Economic benefits
In December 2025, an independent economic assessment by economic consultants Glic estimated the five-site programme would support 8,445 permanent jobs across Scotland, generate £2.2 billion in net annual gross value added and increase Scotland’s GDP by approximately 1.2 per cent.
The average salary associated with direct and indirect permanent roles in the five host local authority areas is estimated at more than £56,000.
The projects would also generate significant business rates, providing an additional contribution towards public services. We estimate that the Larbert campus alone would generate at least £5 million annually in business rates, although the Scottish Assessor would determine final valuations.
*Community benefit should outlast any individual developer. We want the community benefit to be there for the long term, regardless of who owns or operates the data centre. The commitment will be secured through a legally binding agreement, in addition to any Section 75 agreement reached through the planning process. It will attach to the data centre itself, rather than to Apatura, so it remains in place if ownership changes. Any future owner or operator would be required to take on the commitment on the same terms.
