Plans approved for £250m data centre

Plans to build a new £250m high-security data centre have been approved despite hundreds of objections.

The decision on whether to allow the facility to be built at Ark Data Centres' Spring Park Campus in Corsham, Wiltshire, was delayed after campaigners raised concerns about flooding.

Wiltshire Council has now approved the planning application, describing the decision process as "complex".

Councillor Adrian Foster said the council "recognise the strength of feeling" over the proposal and the "significant number of objections" to the site had been "carefully considered" during the decision making process.

"These views were an important part of the decision making process and were carefully considered, alongside technical assessments and planning policy," Foster said.

More than 1,100 objections to the data centre were sent to the council, citing a number of concerns including noise from cooling fans and the size of the building - which will be 18.7m tall (61ft) at its highest point and approximately 180m (150ft) long.

The data centre development, which would see Ark Data Centres provide storage for data on computer servers, will be surrounded by new roads, security arrangements and changes to public rights of way.

Ark Data Centres – where every employee has government security clearance – provides data services to telecoms firms, banks, and video streaming services.

Foster, who is also the cabinet member for strategic planning, said while the planning application had been granted, the development would be subject to robust conditions to mitigate impact on local amenities, the environment and local transport.

Other conditions set out by Wiltshire Council include looking at drainage at the site ahead of construction.

When councillors previously delayed the decision on whether to grant planning permission, Ark's chief revenue officer Rob Silvester described the postponement as "shocking".

His firm said the centre would create 87 jobs, with Silvester describing it as a "strategic investment".

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.