We need to talk about data centres

Over the last six months I’ve written twice about data centres, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities that they present to local communities and the trends that are developing in the discourse around them.

The most visible and audible trend -- community-led resistance to data centres – is accelerating -- and, according to The Economist, the backlash is just getting started:

"The fiercest fights so far have been in America, where protests against data centres have scuppered nearly $100bn-worth of projects,  only just getting started, because the technology is only just getting started, too. That is bound to change—and battles over data centres offer a hint of the struggles to come. The buildings summon a vitriol well beyond conventional nimbysm. More Americans say they would be happy with a nuclear reactor next door than a data centre. Even plans to build one in the Utah desert have met with passionate opposition. More Americans say they would be happy with a nuclear reactor next door than a data centre. Even plans to build one in the Utah desert have met with passionate opposition".

Last month Computer Weekly published a two-part series on attitudes to data centres in the UK which examined  “the great data centre backlash” from the point of view of campaigners and industry.

The most common reasons for opposition to datacentres are rural land loss, water consumption and power grid strain. Other factors include generator noise, CO₂ emissions, visual impact and nitrogen emissions.

Communities were initially open to datacentres but cited a lack of transparency during the process. “Many felt companies didn’t offer reliable channels for feedback, and some objected to the use of shell entities to hide identities. Over time, trust and patience diminished", said one campaigner.

From the industry side, there is a perception that campaigners are often misinformed about the impact of datacentres, and at least some of the pushback is anchored in generalised anti-AI and anti-big tech sentiment. 

“We are at a point where you know information that is not always correct is being dispersed by these groups. 

Local resistance to data centres is reported on a regular basis here in the UK. In London, it is perhaps most visible in Spitalfieds where plans for a data centres on the site of the former Truman Brewery are meeting with fierce resistance from local campaigners.  The Save Brick Lane campaign argue that the new centre on the site of the former Truman Brewery would bring no benefit to the area or residents. “We have a severe housing crisis here and this site should be used to build affordable – ideally council – houses. Instead we are talking about this datacentre, which will bring literally no benefit to anyone living here” one of its campaigners told the Guardian this week.

Over in Slough, which is described as Europe’s largest data centre hub due to the scale of its data centre cluster, residents are concerned about a heat island effect.

For the residents of Slough, the datacentres are visible; adjacent to the high street, at times audible through the walls of their offices. There is plenty of debate about how they affect the area.

And in Scotland, residents of Lanarkshire feel they have been betrayed by developers of a local data centre which have not delivered on promises made in the planning stages. Commitments to generate thousands of jobs and a multimillion pound community fund for local projects have not come good. More importantly, plans to operate the centre with onsite renewable energy have not been fulfilled and the centre has had to connect to the already under strain national grid.

As I write this, the BBC has reported on the postponement of a series of public consultations on data centre developments in north Devon. The company overseeing the plans have faced strong organised opposition to the development and said the events were postponed "to allow more time to talk with local residents."

As opposition to UK data centre development mounts, what are we seeing in response?

Last month, the Mayor of London unveiled a Green Data Centre Innovation Plan, setting the ambition for London to be a “global leader in green data centre innovation and pledging coordinated action to seize huge opportunities”. The plan emphasises that data centre growth in London is critical to “ensure the capital remains the leading global hub for digital innovation and AI” and cites opportunities to link this to the London Infrastructure Framework and commitments to growth shaped around climate, resilience and responsible AI.

It supports initiatives that use data centres to deliver heating solutions for regeneration schemes, municipal facilities, hospitals and individual homes.

RIBA has joined forces with the government’s Department of  Science, Innovation & Technology to launch a national data centre design challenge. According to RIBA, the partnership “reflects our shared ambition to ensure future UK data centres are sustainable, resilient and well-integrated into their communities, and are recognised not only as critical national infrastructure, but places of genuine civic value”.

The UK engineering firm Hoare Lee has acknowledged the social challenge facing UK data centres and has initiated a Social Charter for data centres which explicitly recognises the opportunity for data centres to bring more benefits to local communities. It argues that data centres could move from being perceived as anonymous power, water and land-hungry buildings that suck in resources, to vital social interventions that have the potential to bring much needed change to areas, creating equality, jobs, and community. The authors state,

“Whether focussing on developing essential local social and green infrastructure, building local community wealth, contributing heat to local communities or supporting local supply chains, essential skills, training and jobs, the social potential of data centres is huge.

To date, there has been no agreed blueprint on what a socially conscious, community data centre looks like. Many in the industry have yet to realise the considerable benefits they can bring to communities while still retaining commercial viability. And while there is no one-size fits all model, data centres can offer different things to different communities. The guiding principles in this charter seeks to set out a vision for what a new social contract that embodies social justice and social value in the data centres we are building”.

C40 Cities, a global network of mayors representing 96 cities and 920 million people, has introduced the Global Urban Data Centres Pact, a “mayoral vision for a sustainable, digital future” and which London is one of 41 cities to endorse.

Rather than opposing new developments, the pact seeks to establish common expectations for how urban data centres are planned and operated. Participating cities are calling for facilities that are integrated into local planning strategies, use resources efficiently, engage with communities and deliver economic benefits to residents.

The framework is intended to give city governments a stronger role in shaping digital infrastructure investment while also providing greater certainty for developers and investors.

All of these initiatives are welcome, and underscore the opportunity we have here in the UK to learn from the US experience and shape how data centres can coexist with local communities in a way that generates benefits for all. Why can’t we as a nation develop economic strength through AI and digital technologies and enhance and enrich our local communities too?

We need to create a framework for conversation that recognises the obvious tradeoffs that data centres bring to local communities, and provides a forum to debate these in a constructive, evidence-led way. It’s right that residents, businesses and local councils see a net gain from investing in data centres, and guidance on achieving this through effective management of these factors would be welcome.

·      Section 106 commitments

·      Energy generation

·      Waste heat capture

·      Water usage

·      tax revenue

·      job creation

·      Environmental contribution

Until we’re able to build them in space, data centres are not going away. We can no longer afford to avoid the conversation about how, where and why they’re built.

Clare Delmar

Listen to Locals

July 9^th 2026