‘It’s smoke and mirrors’: hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre

Suspicions grow in Lanarkshire that local people have been misled on supposed benefits of the huge development Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no prospect of meeting renewables promise What are Britain’s AI growth zones and are the plans feasible or ‘complete bunk’?

First covered Jul 6, 2026 · 12:00 AM PT · 1 article

Coverage

15h Guardian Environment ‘It’s smoke and mirrors’: hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre — Suspicions grow in Lanarkshire that local people have been misled on supposed benefits of the huge development Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no…

Appeared in: 2026-07-06 (#16)

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