£950m project in Lockerbie will create 3,000 jobs over five to 10 year period
Dumfries and Galloway planning officials have given the go ahead to UK’s largest data centre, set to be built in Lockerbie.
The £950m, 250,000m² project is being developed by Lockerbie Data Centres, a subsidiary of local firm, Robison and Davison, and will be attached to a business park with 18,000m² of high-tech office space.
The development will create 3,000 jobs in construction over a five to 10 year construction period – 900 through business attracted to the business park and 50 to operate the data centre. It will attract an estimated £3.5bn of inward investment, according to the firm.
LDC hopes the development will be particularly attractive owing to its low running costs and the data centre’s low carbon footprint. Energy from the data centre will be recycled for use in local facilities and about half of the required power will come from local wind farms and a biomass plant.
The developer predicts that the location of the data centre will cut build and land costs. The northern climate will also mean the building is easier to cool.
Scottish ministers will have to give final approval to the project and, if this is received, construction is expected to begin on site in July 2010, with the first completed module up and running by the end of 2011.
