CX Tech Limited is seeking Planning Permission in Principle for a major data-centre campus on land north of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station near Annan, with the developer proposing approximately £16.5 billion of private investment and around 1GW of potential data-centre capacity.
The application has also drawn substantial local opposition. Thousands of representations have been reported since the proposal entered the planning system, with concerns ranging from electricity demand and landscape impact to noise, traffic and the environmental effects of operating eight large data-centre buildings close to rural communities.
The £16.5bn figure is important to distinguish from a construction contract. It is the developer's proposed long-term private investment across the phased campus rather than the value of an awarded building contract. No main construction contract value has been disclosed and no main contractor has been appointed.
Editorial illustration of the proposed Chapelcross data centre campus near Annan. The image does not show the official planning design or site layout. Image: London Construction Magazine.
Chapelcross remains at Planning Permission in Principle stage
Dumfries and Galloway Council application 26/1649/PIP seeks Planning Permission in Principle for a data centre, training centre, industrial buildings, substation and associated infrastructure on land north of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station. The application was submitted in September 2026 and remains at assessment stage. Planning Permission in Principle has not yet been granted. The current application establishes the proposed development framework rather than approving the detailed design of individual buildings.
The planning documents can be accessed through Dumfries and Galloway Council's planning service using application reference 26/1649/PIP. If PPiP is granted, more detailed design and planning submissions would still be required before individual phases could proceed. The developer is currently targeting a PPiP decision in December 2026, but that is a project target rather than a confirmed council determination date.
Eight data centres proposed across a 55-hectare site
The CX Technology Campus proposal covers approximately 55 hectares and includes up to eight data-centre buildings.
| Element | Proposed scale |
|---|---|
| Data-centre buildings | Up to 8 |
| Data-centre floorspace | Up to 162,000 sqm GFA |
| Maximum data-centre height assessed | Up to 40 metres |
| Training centre | Up to 1,100 sqm GFA |
| Industrial space | Up to 6,500 sqm GFA |
| Potential data-centre capacity | Approximately 1GW |
The 1GW figure describes the potential capacity of the completed campus. Project material indicates individual buildings could be developed at around 120MW each, giving approximately 960MW across eight buildings. It should not be read as evidence that a firm 1GW grid connection has already been secured. The wider proposal also includes power infrastructure, an on-site substation, roads, hardstanding, parking, landscaping and drainage infrastructure.
Why Chapelcross has been selected
The site lies immediately north of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station and close to established electricity infrastructure, including an adjacent 132kV Grid Supply Point. The proposed data-centre campus is a new development rather than a conversion of the former nuclear reactor buildings. CX Tech says its energy strategy is intended to rely increasingly on dedicated connections to renewable generation in the surrounding region rather than normal firm demand from the public electricity network.
The developer says the campus would initially use a non-firm, or interruptible, grid connection. Under that arrangement, the campus could be required to reduce demand or disconnect when the wider network is constrained. CX Tech also proposes closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling to reduce water consumption. Drainage proposals include attenuation basins, swales, permeable surfaces and rainwater harvesting, while an Environmental Impact Assessment accompanies the PPiP submission.
Local opposition grows around energy and environmental impacts
The scale of the application has prompted a large number of public representations. By 9 October, local reporting said campaigners were tracking the objection total towards 5,000, while Dumfries and Galloway Council acknowledged receiving a significant volume of representations and altered its normal publication process to manage the workload. Concerns raised publicly include the electricity required by a campus approaching 1GW, the visual effect of buildings assessed at up to 40 metres high, landscape change, noise from cooling and electrical equipment, construction traffic, ecological impacts and the proposed balance between brownfield regeneration and development on surrounding land.
Opponents have also questioned whether the employment and wider economic benefits would justify the project's energy and environmental requirements. CX Tech says those matters are being considered through the planning and Environmental Impact Assessment process. The company maintains that dedicated renewable-energy connections, low-water cooling, environmental mitigation and landscaping would reduce the campus's effects and says the development would not take priority over electricity supplies to local homes and businesses.
£16.5bn is proposed investment, not an awarded contract
CX Tech describes approximately £16.5bn as proposed private investment associated with the complete technology campus. That figure could encompass far more than conventional building work, including data-centre equipment, computing infrastructure, electrical systems and successive phases of development. There is currently no disclosed £16.5bn construction contract and no evidence that the full investment has been committed upfront.
The developer's programme envisages phased construction between 2027 and 2035, subject to planning consent, detailed design, commercial decisions and investment. No physical main construction start has been confirmed. CX Tech currently projects up to 750 jobs during construction and around 540 direct operational roles when the campus is fully developed. It also proposes 40 apprenticeships per year during the eight-year build programme. These remain developer projections rather than guaranteed employment commitments.
Who is behind the Chapelcross proposal?
The planning applicant is CX Tech Limited. Companies House records show the company was incorporated on 28 November 2025 and is currently active. The project is being brought forward as part of the longer-term regeneration of the Chapelcross area following the closure and decommissioning of the former nuclear station.
What happens next?
Application 26/1649/PIP remains under assessment. The immediate planning process involves consideration of public representations, statutory consultation responses and the Environmental Impact Assessment before Dumfries and Galloway Council reaches a decision on Planning Permission in Principle. Even if PPiP is granted, that would establish the broad development parameters rather than authorise all eight data centres for immediate construction. Detailed matters would still need to pass through later planning stages before individual phases could be built.
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