Labour is set to override local councils to construct data centres on the green belt, seeking to enhance the UK’s artificial intelligence sector.
- Data centres may be classified as nationally significant infrastructure projects.
- Developers can bypass opposition from local residents.
- Easing restrictions could lead to an increase in applications for data centres around west London.
- Classification brings planning decisions under ministerial control.
Peter Kyle, the shadow science, innovation, and technology secretary, is contemplating the classification of data centres as nationally significant infrastructure projects. This potential reclassification would enable developers to circumvent local opposition, addressing a pressing warning of a data centre shortage needed to meet the growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Easing planning restrictions is expected to catalyse a rise in data centre applications, particularly in the west London data ‘corridor’, globally the largest hub outside the United States. Industry experts contend that brownfield sites on green belts are among the few viable locations for the expansive modern data centres needed to support urban populations. By declaring these projects nationally important, ministers rather than local councils would assume planning decision authority.
Last year’s rejection of a proposed £2.5bn ‘hyperscale’ data centre, intended to be the UK’s largest, highlighted the issue’s urgency. The development plan was blocked due to green belt protections aimed at preserving views from bridges over the M25. The developer criticised the decision, terming it ‘green belt theology’, and called for planning reform. This view is echoed by various stakeholders pushing for modernisation of the planning framework.
Mr Kyle has been actively engaging with major data centre investors, including visits to leading tech firms on the US West Coast such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. These discussions revealed significant concerns about the hurdles in securing planning permissions in Britain, particularly vexing for Microsoft, which is heavily invested in AI infrastructure. Even as Microsoft and Google announce new UK data centre projects, the cumbersome planning process continues to be a significant impediment.
Large data centres, once built, typically create numerous construction jobs and a smaller number of permanent positions. They are instrumental in supporting high-powered AI services, which Labour plans to leverage to reduce NHS waiting times and enhance public services should they achieve electoral success. Labour’s technological focus is further underscored by collaborative efforts within the party to identify AI deployment opportunities across government departments, with healthcare identified as a key area for productivity boosts.
Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, is collaborating with Mr Kyle and Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, on a broader strategy to harness AI for productivity improvements, especially in healthcare sectors grappling with rising costs due to an ageing population. Pilot schemes in Welsh hospitals are already demonstrating AI’s potential to accurately predict patient discharge times.
Mr Kyle is scheduled to fortify these efforts by meeting technology companies at Imperial College London, seeking to garner support ahead of London Tech Week. The government’s December consultation on considering data centres as critical national infrastructure remains pending, although TechUK, the industry lobby group, has vocally advocated for an overhaul of existing planning laws, citing their inadequacy in specifically addressing data centres, which are currently classified similarly to storage facilities like warehouses.
Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) like airports and power plants are managed by the Planning Inspectorate, thus bypassing local authorities. Labour’s shadow justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, indicated that prisons would also be designated as nationally important to aid their construction. Even if data centres don’t receive this critical significance classification, Mr Kyle assured the tech industry that Labour is committed to reforming planning laws to facilitate new developments.
Labour’s strategy to designate data centres as nationally significant aims to streamline planning and expedite AI infrastructure growth.
