Data Centre Watch

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8 entries matching · showing 1–8

1. 20 Oct 2026 UK Burnley, Lancashire Pre-application

   A £12m data centre under a Burnley hotel — with almost no detail

   Plans would convert the upper and lower underground car parks and basement of The Brunlea Hotel on Keirby Walk, Burnley, into a £12m, 4,000 sq m data centre. The application is filed as a bare 'change of use': no transport, parking, air-quality, energy, carbon, drainage or noise assessments, and it is unclear who the operator would be or how much power it would draw. It is linked to the Burnley-based Real Big Group; a council cabinet member has formally objected, and the application will be decided later.

   Why it matters: A reminder of how little a planning application can contain for one of the most energy- and water-intensive forms of development.

   Source: BBC News / Local Democracy Reporting [C]

2. 15 Oct 2026 Updated 17 Oct UK West Norfolk 1000 MW Pre-application

   1GW data centre and 1.3GW solar proposed for West Norfolk

   EPL Norfolk Ltd has unveiled 'Longmarsh Green Energy': up to 1.3GW of solar and battery storage paired with a 1GW data-centre campus across two West Norfolk sites, near Tilney St Lawrence and Fincham/Barton Bendish, connecting to the Walpole substation from 2031. The combined solar sites cover about 4,695 acres (1,900ha). Its scale makes it a nationally significant infrastructure project, so the decision rests with the government rather than the council; consultation runs to 26 November, an application is due by April 2027, a decision by July 2028 and operation by 2032. The company claims around £25bn of investment, thousands of construction jobs and more than 500 operational roles; the borough council leader questions the site's proximity to RAF Marham (solar dazzle) and nearby nature sites.

   Why it matters: The 'solar farm + data centre' model arriving in the Fens — powering the compute with what's grown on the land.

   Source: Lynn News / BBC [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 17 Oct 2026 — Added the NSIP route and timeline (app April 2027, decision July 2028, live 2032), the 4,695-acre solar footprint, ~500 operational roles and the council leader's RAF Marham/nature concerns.
   2. 15 Oct 2026 — First filed.
3. 27 Sep 2026 Updated 13 Oct UK North Devon 1500 MW Pre-application

   North Devon revolt over a 1.5GW campus in a UNESCO biosphere

   Xlinks has secured ~850 acres for a 1.5GW AI campus plus a 1.8GW battery in the North Devon biosphere — five buildings up to 40m high and ~96 acres of lithium-ion batteries. The North Devon Data Centre campaign has now launched, backing a national petition for a moratorium on data centres outside designated growth zones. FOI documents obtained by CPRE Devon show Xlinks has applied for AI Growth Zone designation — for up to 5GW of data centres — and that Torridge District Council is being pressed to write the Torrington site into its emerging Local Plan.

   Why it matters: The datacentre revolt arriving in a protected landscape — the same fight, a different field.

   Source: The Guardian [V]

   Changes (2)

   1. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the AI Growth Zone bid (up to 5GW) revealed by FOI, and the Local Plan allocation being weighed by Torridge.
   2. 27 Sep 2026 — First filed.
4. 7 Oct 2026 Updated 13 Oct UK North Yorkshire 100 MW Pre-application

   Drax's AI Growth Zone bid rejected — but the 100MW scheme continues

   The government dropped the Drax / University of York bid for an AI Growth Zone, removing a route to national support. Drax says its separate first-phase ~100MW data centre is still being prepared for submission. New analysis estimates the plant would emit more CO₂ a year than all flights from Gatwick Airport.

   Why it matters: Losing a Growth Zone bid isn't a planning refusal — but it strips a signal investors watch.

   Source: Planning Geek / Land & Climate Review [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the emissions finding: the planned data centre would emit more CO₂ a year than all flights from Gatwick.
   2. 7 Oct 2026 — First filed.
5. 11 Oct 2026 UK North Lanarkshire, Scotland 1000 MW Pre-application

   Lanarkshire AI growth zone questioned over land and jobs

   Residents near Newarthill and Airdrie are questioning the promised benefits of the CoreWeave/DataVita zone: 1GW needs ~44 km² of nearby land by conservative estimates, but current holdings appear to be under a tenth of that, and Action to Protect Rural Scotland says the 3,400-job figure could be 'a hundred times' too high.

   Why it matters: The gap between headline jobs/land claims and what is actually secured — the campaign's recurring question.

   Source: DailySynapse [C]

6. 8 Oct 2026 UK Hampshire Pre-application

   Fawley Waterside: a 1.5M sq ft campus with data centres on a former power station

   On the former Fawley Power Station site near Southampton, Fawley Waterside is proposing a 1.5M sq ft industrial and commercial campus combining energy, digital, maritime and commercial uses — with data centres and advanced computing among the potential digital occupants.

   Why it matters: Another retired power station pitched as a home for compute — the land-and-grid logic, again.

   Source: Bisnow [C]

7. 4 Oct 2026 UK Greenwich, London Pre-application

   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]

8. 30 Sep 2026 UK Cheshire East Pre-application

   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]