UK to Rule on 5.2MW Brick Lane Datacentre by Aug. 17 as Housing Backlash Grows
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 7
UK to Rule on 5.2MW Brick Lane Datacentre by Aug. 17 as Housing Backlash Grows
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 7
Summary
Aug. 17 is the deadline for the UK government to decide whether a 5,200-square-metre Brick Lane datacentre can proceed after a public inquiry.
Steve Reed called in the case after Tower Hamlets council rejected the plan last year, shifting the final decision from local authorities to central government.
Campaigners and local councillors say the 5.2MW site would worsen east London’s housing shortage, citing 31,000 people on the borough’s social-housing waiting list and arguing the former Truman Brewery site should be used for homes.
Planning documents show the facility would mainly serve high-frequency trading in the City of London, while opponents also warn of noise and heavy power use—enough, they say, to supply about 15,000 homes.
The dispute reflects a wider UK clash over AI-era datacentre growth: Ofgem said in February about 140 proposed schemes could need 50GW of electricity, and Scotland is weighing a broader moratorium.