A SCOTTISH aristocrat looking to build a £2 billion data centre on his estate has been given a private meeting to lobby decision-makers at the local council – including those in charge of planning, The National can reveal.
In a case which has been branded “outrageous and undemocratic” by local campaigners, the Duke of Roxburghe – Charles Innes-Ker, one of the UK's wealthiest landowners – was personally offered a chance to speak to all of the councillors in the Scottish Borders by the local authority’s chief executive David Robertson.
A petition opposing the data centre development outside Duns has gathered more than 22,000 signatures, and Robertson told councillors the meeting would be a chance for the Duke to “correct some of the misinformation circulating online”.
An email seen by The National, sent by Robertson to all Borders councillors and the whole corporate management team on July 30, further shows:
- That the Duke and his estate manager will attend the council’s headquarters on August 13 “to provide a briefing on the proposal to develop a data centre in the Lammermuirs”.
- That Robertson asked for other meetings booked in at the same time to be moved to “accommodate” the Duke.
- That the chief executive said he “would encourage” everyone to attend in person, including those on the planning committee who will ultimately decide whether the data centre can go ahead.
- That Robertson took legal advice from the council’s director of corporate governance and confirmed that planning committee councillors were “free to attend … providing of course you do not form any view on the merit of the proposals or otherwise”.
A source told The National that there would be questions over the “privileged access” given to an aristocrat, but Robertson and the Roxburghe Estate flatly refuted any allegations of wrongdoing, insisting that nothing about the meeting “is in any way inappropriate”.
Robertson’s email also included, apparently accidentally, the email exchange he had had with the Duke and his team before informing councillors that the lobby meeting had been arranged.
These additional emails showed that, on July 27, Robertson emailed both Innes-Ker and Roxburghe Estates managing director Jaap Roell saying: “Morning Gents, I refer to our conversations on Friday in Kelso about a briefing for elected members on the proposed data centre. We would be very happy to host this cross party briefing at Council HQ in Newtown St Boswells.”
He then offered two dates, and asked them to choose which worked best. The Duke’s personal assistant responded on July 29 saying: “Good morning David. His Grace and Jaap are tied up in meetings this week so have asked me to reply on their behalf. They would very much like to accept your kind offer to give a briefing at the cross party briefing at Council Headquarters.”
A source said: "It seems really unusual for a developer to be given this sort of personal, direct access to elected members.
“Locals have got to be asking questions over the ability of the council to reflect the views of the communities they're supposed to represent when they're giving a wealthy landowner this sort of privileged access to elected members while the chief executive dismisses the concerns of local residents as 'misinformation'.
“More than 21,000 people have signed a petition against this data centre in the Lammermuir Hills, but it's the Duke of Roxburghe being personally invited into Scottish Borders Council to sell his project, not the communities affected. Nothing about this sits right."
Kathleen White, a spokesperson for the Save the Lammermuirs – Stop the Data Centre campaign, said: “We are shocked but not entirely surprised by these revelations. The Duke of Roxburghe appears to be using his status and connections to lobby the local authority’s decision-makers and to attempt to discredit the campaign.
“By going to some lengths to offer him a ‘briefing slot’, the chief executive is tacitly supporting the Duke’s view. This is clearly outrageous and undemocratic.”
White added: “We have been plunged into this campaign without the luxury of the preparation time, resources, consultants, and PR that Roxburghe Estates has at its disposal. It is a very unequal struggle, and this highlights just how deep that inequality goes.
“We call on our elected representatives to refuse to participate.”
Scottish Borders Council chief executive Robertson responded: “I have been accused of bias in this matter, something I completely refute. I am not a decision maker on the proposed development and have not sought in any way to influence the views of elected members who are. My own personal views on the merits or otherwise of data centres are therefore irrelevant.”
He went on: “A cross-party briefing has been arranged for elected members with representatives of Sunlaws Developments, who are proposing to develop a data centre in the Lammermuir Hills on land owned by Roxburghe Estates.
“The briefing was proposed by the council and elected member attendance at the briefing is voluntary. The development has already attracted significant media coverage.
“It is claimed the development, if approved, could bring economic and community benefits to the Scottish Borders, but it has also generated significant opposition from campaigners opposed to the development, including the campaign group Save the Lammermuirs – Stop the Data Centre. If the campaign group would like to meet with elected members, I would be happy to try to set that up also.
“The approach to briefing councillors is consistent with that taken previously in regard to other major developments in the Scottish Borders.”
Roell, who as well as being Roxburghe Estates managing director is also the chief executive of the Sunlaws Development Company, said: “We emphatically reject the suggestion that an information gathering meeting – arranged by Scottish Borders Council [SBC] – is in any way inappropriate.
“It is entirely above board and will be a matter of record and is no different to the approach that SBC takes when dealing with major development proposals.
“For this meeting to be characterised as some sort of untoward lobbying exercise is both inaccurate and misleading. It is an information briefing to allow elected members of Scottish Borders Council who choose to attend to better understand a proposal that has generated significant public interest.
“From the outset, we have engaged openly and transparently and held twice the number of pre-application public consultation events required. This briefing simply provides another opportunity for councillors from all political parties who could not attend the public meetings to hear more, and to ask questions, about a proposal that has potentially very significant benefits for the Borders.
“So much of the criticism of this project has been based on inaccurate information. It is sensible that councillors are presented with the full facts long before any decision is made.
“No planning application has yet been submitted, and no decisions are being sought from this meeting. Any future application will be considered through the statutory planning process.”
Innes-Ker is the 11th Duke of Roxburghe, a position created in 1707. He owns the Floors Castle estate outside Kelso.
The planned development on the Roxburghe Estate comprises of three large two-storey data centre buildings (up to a total ground footprint of 8.1ha), with associated infrastructure (grid connection, transformer, switchboard and Uninterruptible Power Supply system), staff/visitor parking, internal access roads and walkways, security fence and landscaping.
Each two-storey building is proposed to have a height up to 24m and an internal floor space of 54,000m2 over two storeys.
