More data centres approved for west London – where are they?

Hounslow Council is the latest to approve plans for a data centre in west London (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

Another data centre has been approved in west London despite concerns over the facility’s demand for electricity and water.

Hounslow Council voted in favour of building a data centre on a 12.2-acre brownfield site at the Haslemere Heathrow Estate earlier this month.

The decision came just weeks after a controversial data centre was approved near Brick Lane, one of London’s most iconic streets, despite campaigners warning it will gut the area’s character.

The planning committee in Hounslow discussed the facility’s demand for a high-capacity power connection, which would be equivalent to the same needs of tens of thousands of homes.

However, after hearing that the Haslemere Heathrow Estate scheme would import energy from outside Hounslow’s boundaries at the Laleham Grid Supply Point, the plans were approved.

With several more data centres planned for the area, questions have been raised about how local water supplies will be affected and where they currently are in the capital.

Where are the new data centres?

From the cloud to artificial intelligence, data centres house servers and other IT infrastructure that underpin much of the modern economy.

London is already by far the UK’s biggest data centre hub, with around 80% of the UK’s data centre capacity located in the capital.

According to the Greater London Authority, there were 99 operational data centre sites in the capital as of November last year.

On top of this, another 26 are planned to be built.

However, the latest Hounslow development is yet another project that will increase pressure on electricity and water infrastructure.

Affinity Water, which supplies parts of Hounslow, told MPs in May that some data centres were seeking up to 3 million litres of water a day, which is equivalent to the demand of roughly 3,500 homes.

Meanwhile, Ealing Council approved plans last month for a 52,000 square metre data centre on Bridge Road in Southall.

The council said electricity capacity was a ‘recognised issue across west London’ and confirmed the Bridge Road development would have to source its electricity outside the existing grid capacity.

Despite concerns, both the Ealing and Hounslow developments still need to go through a Stage 2 referral to the mayor of London.

Comments Add as preferred source