Housing Secretary Approves Data Centre Plans for Iver Site Following Appeal

Following an appeal, the housing secretary has granted approval for previously rejected plans to construct a data centre on land designated as green belt. Angela Rayner intervened to advance Affinius Capital’s proposed development for the 65,000 sq m (700,000 sq ft) site, located at the Court Lane Industrial Estate in Iver, Buckinghamshire. This determination by the deputy prime minister reverses the refusal of these plans by Buckinghamshire Council, which occurred in October of the previous year. The designated location for the data centre, which currently serves various industrial purposes, lies to the east of the M25 and is bordered by the Grand Union Canal, alongside sewage and water treatment facilities. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Matthew Pennycook, the housing and planning minister, made the decision to approve the site on behalf of Ms. Rayner. The judgment, released earlier this month, listed economic factors, such as the generation of 200 construction positions and an additional 90 jobs for operating the site once operational, as key justifications for establishing the new technology hub. Data centres are extensive facilities housing numerous computers that support services such as artificial intelligence (AI) and streaming. In September, the recently formed Labour government classified data centres as “critical national infrastructure,” affording them equivalent significance and safeguards as those provided to water, energy, and emergency services. Mr. Pennycook recognized that the proposed data centre in Iver was inconsistent with green belt policy. However, he stated that the arguments supporting the proposal encompassed the demand for new data centres, the utilization of previously developed land, and the benefits of investment and job creation.