Residents have condemned plans to build the world’s second largest data centre right next to their tiny village.
The proposed development in Auchtertool, Fife, will dwarf the village and its 200 or so houses and cover an area larger than 100 football pitches.
It will also produce the heat of 600,000 electric one bar heaters, it is understood, with suggestions that local temperatures will soar unnaturally by nine degrees.
Similar complexes in Nevada have had serious impacts on the local environment, with one horse trainer claiming that all their foals have been stillborn since it was installed.
In Auchtertool, the plans for the Cato data centre have collected more than 1,600 objections, with banners protesting the move plastered on the sides of houses, in the village park and on cars.
Some claim the infrared noise from the site will affect humans and animals who cannot cope with the frequency it emits, while others have concerns about flood risks.
The development would store, process and run large amounts of data and software which power the internet. Scotland is considered an ideal location for the hubs due to its abundant supply of renewable energy to power them.
But locals have been left furious and are already planning to protest at Holyrood on September 3, alongside other residents in Larbert – including Susan Boyle – who have a similar proposal on their doorstep.
A plan of what the development in Auchtertool, Fife, will look like once built
An aerial view shows the village next to the proposed site (highlighted in red) which will cover an area larger than 100 football pitches
Clare Williams, 51, who has lived in the area for the last nine years, has erected a protest banner outside her home
A map shows the scale of the site compared to the village (seen near bottom right) which only has 200 or so houses
Fiona Stewart, 53, from Wilmar cottage in Auchtertool, said she was horrified by the plans when she saw them.
Ms Stewart, whose house looks on to the bottom field, said: ‘When I saw the scale and size of the planned data centre I was horrified. It’s bigger than the village and right next to it.
‘I’m not against data centres necessarily, and understand that we might need them, but I don’t know how you can ever justify putting them in a site next to a tiny village.’
She added: ‘I’m worried about light pollution. I’m worried about the noise that comes from them, worried about the flood risk. We’ve got an area down there that has flooded when we get heavy rain. It is already a flood risk, and there’s no information on how they would mitigate for that.
‘We’re calling on the First Minister to just pause this, and take a look at the plan and the framework, and make sure that these are regulated properly, because at the moment the framework’s not there.’
Developers ILI have held some information sessions for locals over the past few weeks, and argue the development will create hundreds of jobs.
Andrea Cail, another resident who chairs the community council, said locals first became aware of the plans around March 2025.
‘We were concerned by the proposal because of the sheer size of the buildings [and] the site, because it’s just at the top end of the village, and it’s on agricultural land,’ she said.
‘We knew very little about data centres at that point, but we twigged that it was going to be quite energy rich, and it would need a lot of electricity, and it would probably need a lot of water.
Laila Seeth with her horse John. Residents fear for the welfare of their animals if the development is built
Adele and Russell Seeth have concerns for livestock in the area
The size of the site is significantly bigger than the size of the village next to it
‘We know it’s a 24/7 facility, and once it’s up and running, it won’t just hum. It will make quite a bit of noise. We don’t know what the longer term effects might be.’
She added: ‘Clearly, there’s a lot of information coming out from the States, so we know, for example, that the land around the data centre will warm up because of the heat that’s radiated.
‘The noise is a big one, because it’s not just the noise we can hear. It’s infrared sound. The unknown quantity is the thing that’s more scary just now.’
According to Ms Cail, Fife council was initially asked to do a screening for an environmental impact assessment, before they determined one wasn’t needed because it didn’t fall within any of the regulations that made it mandatory.
She said: ‘I’m frustrated. I’ve gone through being angry, very frustrated, but also slightly cheered, because last week, the Scottish government decreed that there had to be a full environmental impact assessment done on this planning application.
‘We’ve been working with communities across Scotland who are all in similar boats. They’ve picked here because we have good grid connections and they will be able to get the electricity they require.’
Clare Williams, 51, who has lived in the area for the last nine years, has proudly erected her protest banner outside her home.
The foster carer said that in an earlier public meeting, she was told the centre would consist of a 25 to 30 metre high building before developers admitted it would be closer to 30 to 35 metres.
She said: ‘I’m even more concerned about the noise pollution and heat – 600 megawatts – coming off the buildings. We’d have the same heat as 600,000 one bar fire heaters.
Fiona Stewart, 53, from Wilmar cottage in Auchtertool, said she was horrified by the plans when she saw them
A protest sign is stuck to the back of a resident’s car in the Scottish village
An aerial view of the village, which is currently surrounded by rolling countryside
‘I’ve done the party life and I chose to live here for the quiet life. We are in the countryside. And it’s quiet. My mum comes here [and] when she sits in the garden, she loves it. It’s just so peaceful and serene and you can sit outside and just hear the birds, but our peace is being threatened.
‘I’m angry, frustrated, worried, stressed, all of that.’
She added: ‘We have spent money on living here and wouldn’t be able to afford to sell up if it happens because the house wouldn’t be worth what it is.
‘People will lose potentially hundreds of thousands on their properties. We need more information. It’s not like I’m anti-AI and I’m not anti-data centres. But how many do we need? Do we need to have them on people’s doorsteps?
‘The developers need to leave us alone. Our message is clear: Please reconsider and look at alternatives.’
For Adele and Russell Seeth, who live in Glenniston Farm Cottage right next to where the proposed site will begin up on the hill, there are concerns for livestock.
They claim they weren’t included in any correspondence from the data centre about the future plans because their farm is on the boundary.
However, they have grave fears their animals will suffer if the data centre is built so close to them as a similar development in Nevada has had fatal results.
Mr Seeth, who has lived there for 23 years, said: ‘We have had loads of renewables put around us. We’ve had the wind turbines.
‘They told us that wasn’t going to make any noise, and it makes noise. We’ve had the battery storages and 98,000 solar panels going around us, ten metres off the fence line, right down to the end of the road which we didn’t object to but when we saw this data centre, it was like, “wow”.’
Andrea Cail, who chairs the community council, said locals first became aware of the plans around March 2025
Protest signs are erected throughout the village as residents desperately try to halt the plans
The plans for the data centre in Auchtertool have collected more than 1,600 objections so far
Mrs Seeth agreed, adding: ‘This is the second largest in the world, the biggest one being in Nevada. We can’t get our head around it being here when there are other places.’
Mr Seeth said: ‘We’ve got three horses and four dogs. There’s a real concern to us that there will be acoustic shock to them. They are elite athletes. These are high performance, British showjumping horses, established here for 12 years.
‘They’re highly strung flight sensitive athletes. The 24/7 low frequency hum from massive industrial cooling fans, and sudden testing of emergency diesel backup generators, present a severe psychological and physical threat to their welfare and training.’
Mrs Seeth added: ‘We did a lot of research and the British Horse Society propose an acceptable distance for something like this is five miles. The horses that sleep there every night are just 270 metres from the proposed site, and it will have a direct impact.
‘Our daughters do British showjumping, so we put in the arena here a few years back to allow them to train here and ride here to go with nice hacks on the roads. Their whole life is going to be disturbed and changed if this happens.’
Mrs Seeth also highlighted the extra heat caused by the data centre energy. ‘It puts the temperature up 9 degrees around a half a mile radius. We’ll never see snow again, ice again,’ she said.
Mark Wilson, CEO of ILI Group, said: ‘We understand the strength of feeling in Auchtertool and take local concerns seriously.
‘The proposal is subject to the planning process and has already been supported by detailed technical assessments covering matters including noise, air quality, water, landscape and ecology.
‘Noise assessments we have undertaken show the project can operate within acceptable limits, while the Scottish Government has since requested a full Environmental Impact Assessment. We welcome this additional scrutiny and the opportunity for the potential impacts of the proposal to be examined further.
‘It is important that the proposed development is considered on the basis of the facility that is actually being proposed. Cato is being designed to meet current environmental and technological standards, with significant measures incorporated to manage its potential impacts.
‘Comparisons with data centre developments elsewhere in the world do not necessarily reflect the design, technology, environmental standards or regulatory requirements that would apply to this proposal in Scotland.
‘The built development would occupy only a small part of the wider site, with the majority of the land remaining undeveloped. The proposals also include significant areas of new woodland, wetland and meadow habitat.
‘If approved, Cato would represent a significant investment in Fife, with independent analysis by BiGGAR Economics estimating that the project could support around 1,450 job-years during construction and around 262 jobs in Fife once operational, alongside around 120 permanent on-site roles.
‘We are committed to continuing to engage constructively with the local community as the environmental assessment progresses, listening to concerns and providing clear, evidence-based information about the proposals.’
