Planning permission searched for UK’s largest AI datacentre campus
North Lincolnshire Council has acquired a planning software for a 1,000mW datacentre campus, as its push to change into a government-backed synthetic intelligence (AI) Progress Zone gathers tempo.
In accordance with the challenge paperwork, seen by Pc Weekly, the event could be the most important datacentre in the entire of the UK on completion, with the masterplan suggesting as much as 15 “completely different datacentre plots” could possibly be housed there.
“This is able to be the most important datacentre campus within the northern a part of the UK, and certainly the entire of the UK on the time of making ready the planning software,” the Financial wants and advantages doc for the challenge acknowledged.
The event shall be situated on the location of the previous RAF Elsham Wolds World Warfare II airfield, which neighbours a close-by industrial park.
Plans for this newest challenge had been submitted to the council on the finish of Could 2025.
Based mostly on earlier communications from the council, from February 2025, the Elsham Tech Park plan seems to be the third of 4 initiatives that can kind the spine of the native space’s bid to change into an AI Progress Zone.
A put up in regards to the construct on the North Lincolnshire Council web site mentioned as much as £7.5bn shall be invested in bringing the plans to fruition, and it’s anticipated the challenge will generate as much as 1,200 extremely expert jobs as soon as the work on it’s accomplished.
Constructive signal
Council chief Rob Waltham mentioned the proposed challenge is “one other constructive signal of confidence in our economic system and in North Lincolnshire as a spot to do enterprise”.
“It’s additional proof that the work we’re doing to allow development and create the circumstances for personal funding is delivering actual outcomes and better-paid jobs for our communities,” he mentioned.
As beforehand reported by Pc Weekly, the federal government has acquired a whole lot of bids from native authorities throughout the UK that need their areas to change into house to AI Progress Zones.
As detailed within the UK authorities’s January 2025 AI alternatives motion plan coverage paper, the plan is to create AI Progress Zones in de-industrialised elements of the nation that may be readily redeveloped and have “enhanced entry to energy and help for planning approvals” so these developments may be fast-tracked.
That is in help of the federal government’s push to place the UK as an “AI superpower”, and make using AI applied sciences and companies extra pervasive throughout the UK.
Moreover, the federal government has specified that websites will need to have entry to energy connections of not less than 500mW, or native authorities will need to have a transparent plan in place to reveal how they’d generate that quantity of energy, to have their AI development zone bids thought-about.
The challenge is being overseen datacentre developer Greystoke, and a newly created firm, buying and selling as Elsham Tech Park, has been set as much as entrance it.
Two of its administrators – Sam Matthew and Nick Aldridge – are additionally actively concerned in one other Greystoke datacentre improvement within the area, often known as Humber Tech Park, as confirmed by Corporations Home.
In an announcement, printed on the North Lincolnshire Council web site in February 2025, Matthew – who additionally serves as chief working officer at Greystoke – talked up the advantages buying AI Progress Zone standing will make to the realm.
“It’s going to create thrilling new alternatives for nationwide and regional industries,” he mentioned. “North Lincolnshire’s substantial power infrastructure and intensive expertise base make it the best location for an AI Progress Zone.”
Define planning permission for that improvement, valued at £3bn, was granted by North Lincolnshire Council in August 2024, with that challenge anticipated to extend the provision of AI datacentre capability within the area by 384mW.
