Locals in Southfleet fear plans to build a £3billion data centre outside their tiny Kent village will destroy their way of life.
The village of fewer than 1,000 people, all received letters last week revealing that land currently used for fruit growing has been earmarked for the proposed Ebbsfleet AI Data Centre.
Set across 145 acres, the data centre would be one of the largest in the UK. It is deemed to be of such national importance that the developers are going straight to the Government for permission instead of seeking approval from the local council.
Developers Clearstone Energy have written extensively about their data centre ideas on their website. They plan to start talking with villagers about it in the autumn and say they won’t be submitting their detailed plans until 2028.
They say the site, which sits on land between the A2 and New Barn, will create around 700 jobs and there will be a 300 yard buffer between the actual development and Southfleet. Clearstone will start visiting the area in August through to November to discuss the proposals with residents.
Data centres, which house computers and data storage equipment used to run digital services, are considered critical to the UK’s ambitions to roll out artificial intelligence across the economy.
A construction boom in America has prompted a growing grassroots revolt from critics who argue the facilities are ugly, noisy and consume vast amounts of electricity and water for cooling.
With Britain still lagging far behind the US in the number of data centre developments, the public backlash has so far been comparatively muted.
Existing data centres have faced complaints about the ‘constant hum’ generated by the computer equipment and cooling fans.
