Barrhead County council has given first reading to and set a public hearing date for Bylaw 02-2026, a Land Use Bylaw amendment.
The proposed bylaw would amend Land Use Bylaw No. 4-2024 to add “Data Processing Facility” as a discretionary use in subsection 12.3 (Agricultural Land Use District).
Axiom Oil and Gas Inc. has proposed a modular power generation and data processing facility near an existing gas plant. According to the company’s letter to the country, the project is designed to utilize stranded natural gas to generate up to six megawatts of off-grid electricity. This power will then be used for a modular data processing facility, including blockchain (Bitcoin) mining. The proposed location is on private land approximately three kilometres southwest of the 11-18-059-02W5M gas plant.
Currently, “Data Processing Facility” is not listed as a permitted or discretionary use in any district, meaning the application could not even be considered by the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC). By listing it under discretionary uses, the Development Authority for these applications can use its discretion to determine if the proposed development is appropriate for a site and its surrounding land uses.
A public hearing to discuss this matter ahead of second reading is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in council chambers.
