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
17 entries matching · showing 1–15
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Eagle moves to intervene in water bills — a first for the price review
The environment secretary, Angela Eagle, has written to water companies and regulators saying she will intervene in the next Ofwat price review — something no government has done in the five-yearly process. Her letter sets the priorities: affordable bills and value for money, investment in technology that cuts costs, early intervention on leaks and sewage, better communication, and more decision-making power for local communities and leaders. Defra calls it 'not a business-as-usual price review' and 'the beginning of a long-term transition to a different model for the water sector'; campaigners for public ownership called it reshuffling deckchairs. The last review authorised a £104bn programme and a 36% rise in average bills by 2030.
Why it matters: The first crack in the settlement that lets companies fund investment through bills while outcomes slip — and it is being done by letter, before the next review has formally begun.
Source: The Guardian [V]
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AI giants give ministers 12 months before datacentre protests bite
An AI infrastructure taskforce including Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco has told the government there is 'roughly 12 months' to build a 'compact' that earns public consent, warning that the organised opposition which has stopped fully permitted projects in the United States is beginning to appear here. The Sovereign AI Leadership group wants recommended benefit terms for host communities — an indicative contribution scaled to a site's size, and councils keeping more business-rate revenue (in England's AI growth zones they already keep all the additional rates). PauseAI UK said people would find being 'bought off' undignified; Foxglove said retained rates would mean the companies 'would not pay a penny more'.
Why it matters: The industry now says out loud what the planning record shows: consent, not capital, is the constraint — and it is bidding for community support with tax that would otherwise go to the centre.
Source: The Guardian [V]
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Three data-centre campuses moved out of local planning in four months
Section 35 directions under the Planning Act 2008 have moved three campuses out of local planning in four months: Wapseys Wood, Buckinghamshire (16 March), Ampthill Road, Central Bedfordshire (15 June) and New Barn Road, Dartford (1 July). Once directed, a Development Consent Order examined by the Planning Inspectorate — and decided by the secretary of state, not the council — replaces the planning application. The data-centre National Policy Statement meant to set the tests for these decisions was expected early in 2026 and is still unpublished.
Why it matters: It changes who decides and how you object — from a council committee to a national examination, with the secretary of state holding the final word.
Source: GOV.UK — Section 35 direction, New Barn Road, Dartford (Planning Act 2008) [V]
Changes (1)
- — Compiled from the GOV.UK Section 35 directions after a 22 October planning-reform analysis; three data-centre campuses have now been moved into the NSIP regime.
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Minister's letter casts doubt on Scotland's data-centre guidance
Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad wrote to Green MSP Patrick Harvie on 8 October saying ministers were still considering whether to bring forward national planning guidance for hyperscale data centres — two days after confirming in a written answer that it would be published before Christmas, and having said in September it would come by year-end. The Scottish Government now insists guidance will be published before the end of 2026, as councils and campaigners press for the safeguards behind the current pause. A Green MSP has urged North Ayrshire Council to back a national consultation on data centres.
Why it matters: The pause on hyperscale decisions rests on guidance that may not arrive when ministers said — the same 'announce now, decide later' pattern as the UK's missing National Policy Statement.
Source: The Herald [C]
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Water bosses called in as ministers order daily drought monitoring
Water company chief executives were called before the National Drought Group, chaired by water minister Emma Hardy, after ministers ordered daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels. Companies reported holding back less water for rivers, cutting pressure overnight where safe, and moving water between networks. Drought permits are in place for Wimbleball and Ardingly, Wessex Water is preparing seven more, and non-essential use ban applications from South East Water, South West Water and Southern Water sit with the Environment Secretary. The Environment Agency says at least 120% of average rainfall is needed over six months to leave drought by spring.
Why it matters: Daily monitoring means Whitehall is now watching the numbers itself — and the companies' measures are being reported back as obligations rather than offers.
Source: Defra / Environment Agency / Emma Hardy MP (GOV.UK) [V]
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Ministerial direction tells the EA to protect supplies in severe-drought zones
Defra and the Environment Agency published a direction under section 40 of the Environment Act 1995, instructing the EA to act to protect public water supplies in water resource zones affected by severe drought. It is the legal instrument behind the river-release cuts and abstraction changes being made across the south — the machinery that sits between a drought declaration and a water company restriction order.
Why it matters: Formalises who decides what when supply runs short: the state, not the companies, holds this lever — and it has now been pulled for the hardest-hit zones.
Source: Defra / Environment Agency (GOV.UK) [V]
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Lords committee: new towns must not compete with data centres for water and power
A House of Lords committee has warned that the government's new towns programme is 'threatened by static supply of energy and water', and that the proposed large new settlements should not have to compete for utilities with data centre projects.
Why it matters: The same scarce inputs — grid capacity and water — now have two national building programmes queuing for them.
Source: Planning Resource [C]
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FOI: OpenAI and Nscale never visited the UK's flagship 'Stargate' site
Freedom-of-information documents show neither OpenAI nor its partner Nscale met North Tyneside or North East officials before the government unveiled the Cobalt Park 'Stargate UK' data centre during Trump's September 2025 state visit; only Nvidia visited, five months later, and no grid connection was identified for the touted 1.1GW. (The FOI findings were first reported in July 2026.) The project was paused in April 2026; the government says a taskforce is still overseeing up to 400MW by 2028.
Why it matters: The gap between an announcement and a project — and what FOI reveals about the flagship AI-growth case.
Source: Computing / Guardian FOI [C]
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The UK's AI data-centre energy council has been left unconvened
The council set up to coordinate electricity for AI data centres has not met under the new Downing Street leadership, leaving developers and investors without a clear route to raise grid concerns. Officials are said to favour localised planning over a dedicated coordination body.
Why it matters: The one body meant to join up power and compute for AI has gone quiet — so who decides where the gigawatts go?
Source: Distilled Post [C]
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SNP moves to freeze new datacentres in Scotland
An SNP national council motion calls for a moratorium on all new datacentres in Scotland, potentially covering projects without planning permission. It says the 24 hyperscale schemes in planning would together use more than one-and-a-half times Scotland's peak power demand.
Why it matters: The country positioned as the UK's AI powerhouse is debating hitting pause — the campaign's 'assess it first' argument, at national scale.
Source: DailySynapse [C]
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Green Party: strip data centres of automatic 'critical infrastructure' status
The Green Party wants data centres to lose their automatic Critical National Infrastructure classification, with tighter planning rules, full community consultation, brownfield-first siting near renewables, and audited annual water and electricity figures. CPRE adds that 100+ schemes are in the pipeline with no government body tracking them.
Why it matters: The 'national need' that overrides local plans is now being challenged at the level of the label itself.
Source: Armason weekly [C]
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Campaigners urge binding resource limits for Scotland's data centres
The Foundation for Gaia wrote to the Scottish Government arguing individual decisions cannot address cumulative impacts — it counts 24 major proposals (~6GW) in or near the planning system — and calling for binding limits, mandatory audited water/power/emissions reporting, no drinking water for cooling, and collective assessment by grid connection, catchment and council area.
Why it matters: The 'assess the whole, not the parts' argument — the same gap we push on water, put to a national government.
Source: Envirotec / Foundation for Gaia [C]
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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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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]
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 →