The reason why the Royal Mile will temporarily close tomorrow - and more about protest taking place
Those trying to cross the historic road will be temporarily held by police
The Royal Mile will be temporarily shut tomorrow as campaigners rally against proposals to build over 20 AI data centres across Scotland.
Motorists, pedestrians and bus passengers will be held at rolling roadblocks by police as protestors make their way down the historic road.
Road closures are expected to last from 11:30am to 1:30pm, with protesters encouraged to assemble at 11:30am at the top of the Royal Mile on November 14.
The march will head down towards Holyrood at 12pm.
The groups behind the “Stop AI Data Centres” march say their fears about the impact of this infrastructure on energy bills, the environment, health and communities have gone ignored by the Scottish Government.
There are currently proposals for five data centres across Edinburgh and the Lothians at various stages of development, with a 213 MW site in South Gyle being called in by the Scottish Government for appeal after councillors initially refused planning permission.
Campaign group No South Gyle Data Centre will be among those at the march, with its coordinator Victoria Plutshack saying: “The new Scottish Government guidance - promised by Christmas - needs to have a full 12-week public consultation period so that our voices are heard.
"The No South Gyle Data Centre campaign is joining dozens of other campaigners and citizens to demand stronger guidance on hyperscale data centre development and greater community engagement in hyperscale data centre planning.”
The Edinburgh protest will coincide with a global day of action around the UN climate talks COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, and comes after a similar protest at the Scottish Parliament in September.
A rally featuring music and speeches will be held at the amphitheatre outside the Scottish Parliament from 1-3pm once the march makes its way to the base of the Royal Mile.
Gordon Maloney, Chair of Living Rent Edinburgh, said: "Rather than build homes and invest in public infrastructure, this government is imposing data centres on communities with no thought for what people want.
“Our politicians are supposed to protect the interests of the people, not big corporations. We need our politicians to stand up for the people who live in Scotland and stop AI data centres being built across the country."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government will be publishing new planning guidance on data centres before the end of the year and, in parallel, is developing a strategic approach to maximising the public benefit from data centres located in Scotland.
"Planning authorities are also now required to notify ministers of new data centre applications, with a new planning direction also mandating an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be submitted during planning for all new data centres with a power capacity exceeding 50 megawatts (MW).”