DATA CENTRE: Balerno Community Council (BCC) will contact counterparts in Juniper Green and Currie after hearing a presentation from a concerned local community group about proposals for construction of a Data Centre at Hermiston, Currie.
The applicants propose development of a Data Centre campus with associated infrastructure, and comprising. in particular, three main buildings capable of 200MW utility demand capacity claim.
Those buildings would have a foot print of 54690m2 along with an associated electricity substation of 15.625 m2.
The proposed height of the buildings is said to be 23m and the site overall is 30.5 hectares – approx. 37 to 42 football pitches.
The City of Edinburgh Council issued a Screening Opinion on 6 May on the question of whether an Environmental Impact Assessment was required in relation to the proposed development, concluding that it was not.
Sarah Matthews of the Hermiston Community Data Centre campaign group addressed the June meeting of BCC and urged elected members to protect the area and to demand proper scrutiny of one of Scotland’s largest proposed data centres.
They are calling on the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government to ensure that the proposed centre receives full scrutiny and they have raised a petition aiming to stop the development.
Sarah claimed that this is not a routine business park development and said it was an “industrial-scale digital infrastructure proposal on Green Belt land beside homes, farmland and the Union Canal corridor”.
The power demand to run the centre, she said, would be 200 megawatts (MW) of continuous load and the annual electricity demand was 1,752 GWh, equivalent to the domestic electricity demand of well over 600,000 homes.
Protestors are concerned over the daily cooling water demand and the impact on drinking water supply, drainage and sewer implications and the cumulative pressure on surrounding infrastructure.
She circulated an information sheet which alleged: “The proposed Wester Hermiston AI data centre would be one of the largest energy-intensive industrial developments ever proposed on Edinburgh’s western edge.
“The (City of Edinburgh) Council has already issued a screening option concluding that a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not required.
“The council has reached that conclusion despite acknowledged uncertainty around major environmental impacts and despite clear polity tests under National Planning Framework 4 and the Edinburgh Local Development Plan that require robust evidence.”
The sheet added: “This is not about opposing technology. It is about whether a project of this scale can properly be screened out of full environmental assessment while key impacts remain unresolved.
“The council has made its decision. The community is entitled to challenge whether that decision is evidence-based, policy-compliant and consistent with the scale of the proposal.”
WEEDS: The problem of weeds in the village was described by one local resident as “diabolical”, particularly in the Dean Park area, and Councillor Graeme Bruce listened to their concerns which also included overhanging branches.
Balerno is a pesticide-free area and this, said Richard Henderson, the BCC chairman, complicated the issue.
A member of the public argued that there are sophisticated weed killer options now available and urged to council to take action as soon as possible.
Councillor Bruce said he would investigate what happens in other parts of the city and urged those present to email him with their concerns but he stressed that budget cuts were having a significant impact.
ROAD SAFETY AT DEAN PARK SCHOOL: The Council heard from Dean Park Primary School Parent Council who outlined concerns to BCC and urged the City of Edinburgh Council to look at increasing crossing points in key areas in the village with Ravelrig and Bridge Road among them.
Some parents use their cars because of safety concerns, according to the representatives, and Dean Park Parent Council are seeking to improve the safety of pupils, parents and staff at the school which is a main feeder primary for Balerno High School.
There are, said the representatives, significant concerns around what they termed unsafe and congested parking during drop-off and pick-up times and they called for improvements, including safer cycle zones.
Richard Henderson, chairman of BCC, said BCC would encourage the City Council to enhance road safety around the school.
LOCAL PLACE PLAN UPDATE: Councillors and the public were provided with a detailed run-down of the recent survey in which local residents gave their views on the future of Balerno.
Around 250 responses had been received and Mark Galloway, who is leading on the preparation of the LPP for BCC, covered a number of themes which generated responses from members of the public.
They will be taken into consideration by a BCC working group ahead of a public meeting in St Joseph Hall, next to Balerno Parish Church, on Thursday, July 9 (7.30pm).
Among themes covered at the June meeting of BCC were education, homing in on Balerno High School and Dean Park Primary School.
Another major topic was digital infrastructure in the village along with green and social infrastructure as well as transport and movement. Concerns over the popular open space in The Pentlands were also outlined.
Mark urged people to attend the public meeting and stressed that the views of the public will be taken into account before a final submission to the City of Edinburgh Council who are preparing a strategic plan for 2040.