Data Centre Watch Updated 23 October 2026, 17:16 UTC
Data Centre Watch
The local fight over one field is one row in a national rush. This is a rolling, fully sourced record of what changed — the schemes, the planning decisions, the power and water, and the wider world picture.
days under a hosepipe ban
Under a hosepipe ban for 106 days — since 10 July 2026 (as of 23 October 2026).
Affinity Water — Central region (incl. WD5), extended to the East region
11 areas in drought, parts of 4 in severe · reservoirs 54% · the water picture →
Latest
59 entries matching · showing 46–59
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National petition to 'ban harmful data centres' tops 24,000 in 48 hours
Foxglove and 38 Degrees launched a petition asking the PM to ban harmful data centres and set basic rules — no fossil-gas power, developers paying full grid costs, and no draining local water. It passed 24,000 signatures in 48 hours (alongside a separate 9,000-signature gas-power petition), citing ~315 projects and ~73GW in the UK connection queue.
Why it matters: The campaign case is going national — and it is written as rules, not just 'no'.
Source: Foxglove [C]
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Only 32% of queued data-centre projects have a customer
The NESO figure Ofgem's consultation left out: of the data-centre projects that answered the system operator, just 32% reported a secured off-taker — 68% had none.
Why it matters: The queue overstates real demand — which matters for every grid-reinforcement and siting decision built on it.
Source: Yeandel / NESO [V]
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Data centre vies with 8,000 homes at Charlton Riverside
Greenwich Council opposes a 180MW data-centre campus on the former Stone Foundries site — land zoned for housing — before an application is even submitted. Promoted by GLI (Patrizia + Kingston Space); the government says data centres use just 0.2% of England's non-household water, while Water UK says it needs authorisation to invest ahead of demand.
Why it matters: The same land can't be both homes and data halls — and the water arithmetic is being fought over in public.
Source: BBC News [V]
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Industry push to mandate heat recovery from new data centres
EnergiRaven and the Association for Decentralised Energy want all new data centres above 1MW built with heat-offtake infrastructure, and AI Growth Zones planned around consented heat-network 'spines'. Polling they commissioned found 58% of Britons think planning permission should depend on sharing waste heat.
Why it matters: A rare 'yes, but' — the build-out could heat homes if the pipework is mandated up front, not retrofitted.
Source: Data Centre Magazine [C]
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£1bn Wickford site: surveyors in, still no power date
A year after approval, surveyors appear on Caineal's A127 site — but no construction start or grid date is confirmed, days after the Nscale grid-delay story.
Why it matters: Consent is not delivery: a consented site with no published power date.
Source: Resultsense / Echo [C]
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Government concedes it is 'managing speculative applications'
A written answer (HL3474) says the government is working with Ofgem, NESO and DESNZ to 'manage speculative applications' for data-centre connections — without saying how many or how much of the pipeline is speculative.
Why it matters: The department that cites the pipeline now hints part of it isn't real.
Source: UK Parliament [V]
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ACRE's Pinewood scheme to run on gas for a decade-plus
A ~£570m data centre at Pinewood Nurseries would lean on on-site gas engines while it anticipates a minimum 10-year wait for a firm grid connection. Stoke Poges Parish Council objected over air quality, carbon and noise.
Why it matters: Gas becomes the default when grid capacity can't arrive on the project's timeline.
Source: Briefs [V]
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60-hectare Cheshire campus sparks local concern
Innova's 'Spodegreen' campus near Little Bollington (on Tatton Estate land) has not yet been submitted, but residents are worried about homes, businesses and wildlife — and the National Trust is reviewing it near Dunham Massey.
Why it matters: The pattern reaching the countryside: farmland, a stately estate, and a pre-application charm offensive.
Source: BBC News [C]
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Amazon's Iver data centre approved with 27 backup generators
Buckinghamshire Council approved Amazon's redevelopment of the 7.3-ha Ridgeway site, accepting landscape harm to the Colne Valley Regional Park in exchange for 'need' and employment.
Why it matters: Backup diesel on green-belt edge, approved on need — the same trade-off as Abbots.
Source: Bucks Herald [V]
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£16.5bn / 1GW Chapelcross campus lodged
CX Tech's application for eight data centres on the former Chapelcross nuclear site (application 26/1649/PIP) claims up to 1GW and 162,000 m². APRS says it would be larger than any operating data centre; the Scottish Greens call it 'reckless'.
Why it matters: The biggest proposed array in the UK, pitched as brownfield renewal — and disputed as farmland.
Source: BBC / STV News [V]
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Three more data centres planned on Slough green belt
Manor Farm Propco wants three data centres (216MW, 141 backup generators) on 23.5 ha of green belt beside the scheme the government approved on appeal. Comment closes 20 Oct; a resident petition has passed 776 signatures.
Why it matters: Green belt reclassified as 'grey belt' — the loophole that lets farmland become data halls.
Source: Slough Borough Council / Slough Daily [V]
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Government launches 'GB Grid' to speed connections
A publicly-owned arm of Great British Energy that will invest in networks and allow developers to self-build connections, aimed at the queue that has grown from 41GW to 125GW, over 80GW of it data centres.
Why it matters: Grid access, not planning, is now the gate — and it is a political priority.
Source: City AM [V]
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Nscale's £2bn Essex site has planning, a tenant — and no power until the 2030s
Nscale's Loughton campus has permission, Microsoft as anchor tenant and a 90MW connection agreement, but UK Power Networks has reportedly said the grid cannot deliver enough electricity until the early-to-mid 2030s — the 2027 opening is gone.
Why it matters: The clearest UK example yet of power, not planning, deciding when a project opens.
Source: The Guardian / Bricks & Bytes [C]
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Minister approves a Brick Lane data centre and offices over the council's objection
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook granted Truman Estates' four recovered appeals for the area around Brick Lane — offices, a cinema, market, 44 homes (six social rent) and a 5.2MW data centre at 47 Grey Eagle Street — over Tower Hamlets' opposition and its draft Local Plan's 800-home earmarking, given 'limited weight' as unexamined. Campaigners cite a 30,000-household waiting list.
Why it matters: The planning balance in practice: a data centre approved on land a council wanted for homes — because a minister, not the borough, made the call.
Source: MHCLG decision / BBC [V]
Watchlist — what lands next
| What | State | When |
|---|---|---|
| Data-centre National Policy Statement (NPS) | Still unpublished; projects already being directed into the NSIP regime without it. | Expected 'shortly after' the Jan 2026 regulations |
| Ofgem 'Curate' data-centre connection reform | Consultation closed 17 Sep 2026; decision pending — commitment fee £237,500–£712,500/MW. | Decision later in 2026 |
| Scotland — hyperscale planning guidance | Parliament agreed no decisions on hyperscale applications until guidance is published. | Guidance expected by December 2026 |
| Draft London Plan — data-centre policy GLE3 | Consultation closed 15 October 2026; responses under consideration. | Next draft / adoption pending |
| National Scheme of Delegation for planning functions (SI 2026/854) | Standardises which applications go to officers vs committee; non-compliant committee decisions open to judicial review. | In force 31 October 2026 |
| EU data-centre standards and rating scheme | Commission has adopted a data-centre sustainability rating scheme; consultation on minimum performance standards remains open. | Consultation closes 14 December 2026 |
| Environmental Audit Committee report (HC 22) | Inquiry 'Risks and opportunities to the sustainability of data centres in the UK'; report + government response due. | Awaiting publication |
| Three Rivers Local Plan examination | Plan submitted; examination in H1 2027, adoption targeted Sep 2027. | Submission 30 November 2026 |
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Fully sourced, no invented numbers
Every entry names its source and how it is known — verified, a designated claim, our calculation, or a gap. Where a claim is contested, we say so. See all reports & explainers →