Green light for massive UK AI tech park
A former RAF airfield in North Lincolnshire has been approved as the site of one of the UK’s most ambitious AI data centre campuses, but the unanimous vote came despite hundreds of objections from residents and environmental campaigners.
North Lincolnshire Council has granted outline planning permission for the Elsham Tech Park, a proposed AI data centre campus that would rank among the largest of its kind in the UK.
At full build-out, the site would include up to 15 hyperscale data centre buildings across 176 hectares, delivering more than 1.5 million square metres of floorspace and up to 1GW of computing capacity.
The development is expected to cost between £5.5 billion and £7.5 billion to build and could attract up to £10 billion in private investment over its lifetime.
Developer Greystoke plans to begin construction in 2027, with the first phase due to open in 2029, and the full campus to be delivered in phases over approximately a decade.
The project is also required to source at least 30% of build costs from businesses within a 30-mile radius, injecting an estimated £1.65 billion to £2.25 billion into the local economy.
The scheme received over 380 letters of objection from residents and environmental groups. Critics raised concerns, including loss of privacy for neighbouring properties, around-the-clock noise and light, and the scale of carbon emissions, with one campaign group estimating the equivalent of twice the woodland of Wales would be needed to offset the development’s environmental impact.
Permission was nonetheless granted unanimously by councillors.
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