Protesters opposing proposed large-scale data centre developments at Hurlford and Hunterston have gathered near The Park Hotel in Kilmarnock this morning, as a major Ayrshire business event takes place at the hotel.
The demonstration coincides with the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry B2B Exhibition, being held today, Wednesday 30 September, in the hotel’s Caprington Suite.
The timing places campaigners close to a venue attracting businesses and organisations from across Ayrshire, although Ayrshire Daily News has not established whether today’s B2B exhibition was specifically chosen as the reason for staging the protest nearby.
Campaigners were photographed by Ayrshire Daily News carrying a number of placards opposing proposed data centre developments at Hurlford in East Ayrshire and Hunterston in North Ayrshire.
Signs included “No Data Centre Hurlford”, “Ditch the Data Centre – Keep Our Green Spaces” and “No Hyperscale A.I. Data Centre.”
Other placards raised concerns about pollution, noise, energy use and the potential environmental impact of the developments. These are concerns being expressed by protesters rather than established findings about either development.
Hurlford proposal
ILI Group is proposing the Rufus Data Centre Project at Hurlford.
The project has been subject to pre-application consultation, with the developer previously seeking feedback from the local community.
The Park Hotel itself has previously been used by the developer for consultation on the Hurlford proposal, with ILI holding a public consultation event there on February 24 this year.
The proposed development has also attracted attention at Holyrood.
The Hurlford proposal has been referred to in the Scottish Parliament as having a 540MW power demand.
Kilmarnock and Loudoun MSP Alan Brown has raised concerns in Parliament about the potential cumulative impact of data centres, including their demands on electricity and water resources.
Those comments represent concerns raised by the MSP rather than established environmental impacts of the Hurlford development.
Hunterston plans
A separate major data centre development is proposed for Hunterston in North Ayrshire, and today’s protesters also displayed signs opposing that project.
Developer Eneus Energy says its proposed Hunterston Data Centre could represent investment in the region of £10 billion.
The company says it expects the project to support more than 1,000 jobs during construction, with further permanent employment once the development becomes operational.
Those investment and employment figures are projections made by the developer and are not guaranteed outcomes.
Eneus says Hunterston is particularly suited to large-scale digital infrastructure because of existing power, water, port, rail and connectivity infrastructure.
New environmental requirements
The controversy surrounding large data centres comes as the Scottish Government introduces additional scrutiny of major developments.
From 17 September 2026, proposals for new data centres in Scotland with a power capacity exceeding 50MW are required to undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment.
The Scottish Government has said evidence concerning the environmental impact of data centres continues to develop and has identified considerations including energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, noise and, in some circumstances, air quality.
Today’s demonstration highlights the continuing opposition from campaigners to the proposed developments, with signs referring specifically to both Hurlford and Hunterston prominently displayed near The Park Hotel.
The presence of the campaigners also comes on a particularly busy day at the hotel, with the Ayrshire B2B Exhibition bringing together businesses and organisations from across the region.