The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Jobs boost promised as Glenrothes data hub plans approved
technology: Digital development expected to create hundreds of roles
Hopes have been expressed that Glenrothes will become a Scottish technology hub after plans for the country’s largest data centre were given the green light.
Members of Fife Council’s central area planning committee approved plans for the complex at the town’s Queensway Industrial Estate yesterday, with the project expected to create in the region of 350 construction and permanent jobs.
The site, which will host some of the most sophisticated data servers and computer equipment in the country, is expected to appeal to high-profile firms in the finance and energy sectors, with the stored data being used to identify new business trends.
Councillor Altany Craik, the region’s economy convener, said the news was a significant boost to Glenrothes.
“The data centre is an exciting development bringing much needed high-tech jobs to Glenrothes,” he said.
It is great news but I hope that these jobs are kept local. COUNCILLOR MICK GREEN
“I am pleased to see it pass the planning committee and look forward to seeing it on the ground.
“I hope that it can be the cornerstone of digital developments in Glenrothes in the coming years.”
Given the sophisticated nature of the work, Glenrothes councillor Mick Green expressed his hopes that local people would benefit from the new data centre.
“It is great news but I hope that these jobs are kept local,” he said.
“These are very specialised jobs and I don’t want them to be for people coming from outside, like Edinburgh.
“As a local councillor I want them to be for people from the town.”
The new building will become one of the most technologically advanced in Fife when it opens and will form the heart of a wider business park to be developed within Glenrothes.
Featuring high-speed internet lines demanded by the world’s top businesses, the centre will feature network connections stretching more than 7,500 kilometres across the UK and beyond to the rest of the world.
As well as the largest facility of its kind in the country, the new complex would also be the most energy efficient.
It is anticipated that around 300 construction jobs will be created now that planning permission has been granted, while up to 50 permanent posts could follow once the completed complex opens for business.