The fields are currently in use as farmland, but may soon become home to what has been described as “Europe’s largest data centre” if proposals put forward by Havering Council and developer Digital Reef go ahead.
It’s a fight that is being played out across the country as Labour’s AI push spurs demand for power-hungry data centres on the outskirts of cities.
The sector is notoriously secretive, but estimates suggest there are currently over 400 such sites across the UK.
The Government is a champion of the sector and has promised to remove planning barriers to building data centres in its bid to boost the UK’s AI industry.
An aerial view of a Google Data Centre being built in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire in August 2024 (Photo: Richard Newstead/Getty)Data centre backlash
In Havering, an opposition group has formed made up of residents, the local Friends of the Earth group and a representative from Reform UK. The diversity of the group reflects the multitude of ways in which the proposals have offended locals.
“We are not opposed to data centres as such, but they are more appropriately placed in an industrial environment. This is green belt, designed to stop urban spread,” said Ian Pirie, coordinator at Havering Friends of the Earth.
Ian Pirie, Danny Leach and Nick Palmer at the site in North Ockendon (Photo: Lucie Heath)The loss of green space is one theme that unites those in opposition to the Havering project. If approved, the data centre and associated buildings will be made up of 15 warehouses up to 21m tall, covering 99 acres, or 62 football pitches.
Pirie said the fens currently support a variety of wildlife, including badgers, deer, birds and reptiles, which he fears will be driven away by construction.
Another concern is whether the local area has the infrastructure to support such a large data centre, which uses huge amounts of electricity and water.
It is not known exactly how much electricity or water the Havering site is expected to use, as developers are not required to publish this information. A report from the International Energy Agency found a large data center has an annual electricity consumption equivalent to 350,000 to 400,000 electric cars.
The environmental impact of AI
As AI becomes more ingrained in our everyday lives, some experts are sounding the alarm about the impact on the environment.
AI uses huge amounts of energy. New research by the IEA predicts electricity demand from data centres worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today.
AI will be the most significant driver of this increase, with electricity demand from AI-optimised data centres projected to more than quadruple by 2030.
In the UK, the CEO of the National Grid has warned datacenter power consumption is on track to grow 500 per cent over the next decade. The development of thousands of homes has been stalled in west London due to grid capacity issues, caused partly by the demand from data centres.
Many data centres also use huge amounts of water for cooling. Last month Thames Water warned that the data centres planned in its region will use the same amount of water as 1.68 million households.
Dr Loïc Lannelongue, a researcher on environmentally sustainable computing at the University of Cambridge, said that despite being someone who is “optimistic” about the power of AI, he does not believe it is worth the damage to the environment.
“The existing environmental impact is so much greater than the expected benefit.”
An LDO is a planning tool that essentially allows developers to bypass parts of the planning process.
Havering Council leader, Ray Morgon, said local residents will be given the opportunity to express their views no matter what planning route is taken.
However, Pirie is concerned residents will be given a very small window to respond to the proposals if an LDO is granted.
Labour’s attack in nimbyism
It is a complaint being echoed by communities across the country as Labour launches its attack on “nimbys” in pursuit of development and growth.
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has overturned two council rejections of data centres since coming into post, in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Both were initially rejected due to building on the green belt.
While Labour says data centres are an essential part of its plans to grow the UK’s economy, the Government risks alienating local communities through its full throttle support of these megaprojects.
Palmer began supporting local residents in their opposition to the data centre during the 2024 General Election when he was standing as Reform’s candidate for Hornchurch and Upminster.
“What it needs is more local people to be actually standing up for the people and having their voices heard,” he said.
‘The whole world is changing’
Danny Leach in the fields next to his home where the data centre will be built (Photo: Lucie Heath)Danny Leach’s home, an old farmhouse, looks directly onto the fields that could soon be dug up to build the data centre.
He has lived in the area for 20 years and has seen many changes, as motorways have been built and farmland replaced with solar panels.
More development is expected is approval is given to the Lower Thames Crossing, which will connect to the M25 near North Ockendon.
“As a country we are farming less and less… it’s pretty shit money. The farmer, not being funny, he doesn’t know what he’s going to get for that,” he says pointing to the field of wheat that could soon be replaced by a data centre.
Leach said he knows we need data centres and doesn’t want to be a “hypocrite”.
“I’ve got an iPhone. I use data. My son’s on the internet. He does games and that. The whole world is changing,” he said.
However, it angers him that the council is considering a Local Development Order and not letting local people have their say.
“It’s like different rules for one and different rules for another,” he said.
Other local Reform parties have also began actively campaigning to protect the green belt, perhaps eyeing an opportunity to win over those who the Government is alienating.
They added that “development on the Green Belt will only be allowed where there is real need”.
Digital Reef did not respond to request for comment.
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