Planning and Environmental Appeals Division
Scottish Government division that decides planning appeals in Scotland.
DPEA's 30 July 2026 screening direction on a 212.42 MW Edinburgh data centre shows the gap between settling what evidence is needed and deciding a case.
Last refreshed: 14 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What made the Scottish Government overturn Edinburgh Council's own screening opinion on this data centre?
Timeline for Planning and Environmental Appeals Division
Issued a screening direction on 30 July overturning the council's own EIA opinion
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: 212 MW Edinburgh appeal now needs an EIABackground
The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) is the Scottish Government body that decides planning appeals on ministers' behalf, standing in for local authorities once a case is called in or appealed. Its REMIT covers two distinct functions: issuing screening directions on whether a proposal needs an environmental impact assessment, and later determining the appeal itself on its merits.
In the Redheughs Avenue case, DPEA exercised the first of those powers on 30 July 2026, after a third-party interested party asked it to review Edinburgh Council's own opinion that no assessment was needed . A screening direction settles only what evidence must be gathered before a decision can be made; it is not itself a ruling on the 212.42 MW scheme. That determination, on the underlying appeal against the council's 9 February 2026 refusal, is targeted for 8 September 2026.