Government faces legal challenge over data centre

Campaigners are taking legal action over the government's decision that a large data centre should be built.

In June 2024, Buckinghamshire Council rejected plans for the facility at the Woodlands Park landfill site in Iver over concerns it would damage the green belt environment.

However, following an appeal by the developer, the government overturned the council's decision and granted planning permission.

Not-for-profit company Foxglove and charity Global Action Plan have complained that the environmental impact has not been properly considered.

The two campaign groups say they have submitted a planning appeal under Section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

They fear the site, which would be built across 775,000 sq ft (72,000 sq m), would strain local energy supply because of its use of the local substation.

They also suspect it would drive up energy prices.

The project should be subject to an environmental impact assessment, they said, and they criticised the government for not considering projected water consumption.

Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said: "Local people and businesses in Buckinghamshire will soon be competing with a power guzzling-behemoth to keep the lights on, which as we've seen in the states, usually means sky-high prices.

The government decision was made by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, on behalf of Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who is also deputy prime minister.

Global Action Plan's head of campaigns Oliver Hayes added: "The deputy prime minister's lack of meaningful scrutiny of this application has serious consequences for people in Buckinghamshire and sends a worrying signal to communities across the country that more and bigger data centres are inevitable."

The UK is home to an estimated 477 data centres, which are giant warehouses filled with technology used to power digital services such as streaming and online banking.

Pennycook acknowledged the potential landscape effects but argued this was outweighed by the need for data centres.

The government had already granted planning permission for a data centre in Court Lane, Iver, in December 2024, and another in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, in May 2025.

Figures seen by the BBC show the number of data centres in the UK are expected to increase by almost a fifth.

Developer Greystoke insisted the new centre at the landfill site - which would be named the West London Technology Park - "meets a vital national need".

A spokesperson added: "The data centre campus incorporates measures which benefit the environment, including appropriate building standards, solar panels and heat pumps."

The government declined to comment further.

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