A company has said the council decision to block its £1 billion data centre could drive employers and investors abroad.
Yesterday evening (January 18), Three Rivers District Council’s planning committee considered a proposal for a hyperscale data centre in a field alongside Bedmond Road and the M25 in Abbots Langley.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for the proposal after a report provided to the committee ahead of the meeting recommended permission be refused. During the meeting councillors agreed with the reasoning set out in the 94-page officer report.
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All councillors present unanimously voted to refuse permission, with scale of the facility being described as “inappropriate” in a green belt context.
As the committee prepared to vote, meeting chair Sara Bedford commented that the “well-written” report had “silenced all the questions”.
It had given three reasons for refusal, one of which was the site falling within green belt without being judged to meet the “very special circumstances” required to do so.
The report added that it would also fail to protect the natural environment due to its huge size. It claimed the development would "result in significant demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the area and the natural environment".
Officers also felt financial contribution towards improving walking and cycling routes in the area should be required of the developer, which was not formally committed to.
The proposed data centre would have spanned the area of 12 football pitches and would involve an investment of around £1billion, according to the plan.
An additional community benefit packaged with the proposal was a landscaped country park in adjacent land, which is currently private but would have been made accessible to walkers.
Today, a spokesman for Greystoke said: “We appreciate councillors and officials have a very difficult job to do, but we are disappointed by this decision.
"The UK needs large data centres to support economic growth and digital leadership.
"Building one here in Abbots Langley will bring hundreds of well-paid jobs to the area, £12 million investment in education and training, and a new country park.
"Failing to build here will mean employers and investors will look to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris instead.”
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