Villagers have voiced fierce opposition to proposals for what would be the world’s second-largest data centre, planned for a site immediately beside their small community.

The development earmarked for Auchtertool in Fife would tower over the village, which has around 200 homes, and would spread across land said to be bigger than 100 football pitches.

The Cato data centre is also understood to generate heat comparable to 600,000 electric one-bar heaters, amid claims that temperatures in the surrounding area could rise unnaturally by as much as nine degrees.

Concerns have been heightened by reports from similar data centre complexes in Nevada, where residents have blamed such facilities for damaging the local environment, including one horse trainer who claimed every foal born since the site opened has been stillborn.

In Auchtertool, anger over the proposed Cato data centre has already prompted more than 1,600 objections, while protest banners have appeared on homes, cars and around the village park.

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.

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.

‘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.

‘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”.’

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.’