Opposition mounts to 'monster' data centre in Borders hills

A petition against plans for a Borders data centre which opponents have described as a "monster" has gathered nearly 7,000 signatures in the space of a week.

Campaign group Save the Lammermuirs – Stop the Data Centre (SLSDC) has described the proposals as the "wrong development in the wrong place".

Sunlaws Development Company (SDC) said it would create 145 high-quality local jobs with its £2bn Southside proposal at a site to the west of Duns between the villages of Longformacus and Westruther.

Two consultation events have been held in the past week to allow local residents to get more information on the plans.

A first session was staged at Longformacus village hall with the second at the village hall in Westruther on Wednesday.

SDC - formed by Roxburghe Estates and the local landowner - has said its project could create 1,000 jobs in the construction phase.

Once completed it said the three two-storey buildings would be covered with "green roofs" planted with moorland species and designed to blend into the landscape.

Further consultation events are to be held ahead of the submission of a full planning application.

However, an opposition campaign was formed quickly as the first details of the plans began to emerge.

It said that the area involved was not appropriate for an "industrial-scale data centre".

It added that it would consume vast amounts of electricity and drain the "life and beauty from the landscape".

The group has called on Scottish Borders Council to oppose the plans if a full planning application is lodged.