Campaigners are threatening to take the government to court over its decision to overrule the local authority and approve a new data centre on Green Belt land in Buckinghamshire.
The proposed data centre from developer Greystoke is called West London Technology Park and comprises of two data centre buildings with 72,000m2 gross external area (GEA).
Greystoke describes the development as “a cloud data centre campus. The project is ideally located in both the Slough and Hayes availability zones. Slough is Europe’s largest cluster of data centres and hosts all of the hyperscale customers”.
West London Technology Park is planned to be directly south of Iver substation and is located on a landfill site between the M25 and the West London Industrial Estate.
The development contains two data centre buildings, a substation and district heating network. It will have plenty of green spaces covering “the majority of the site area” and the two “carefully-designed buildings will be almost entirely screened by trees and landscaping”, according to the developer.
The plans were rejected by Buckinghamshire Council. Bucks Free Press reported that the council said it had received 63 letters of objection to the plans, including from Joy Morrissey MP, with many of those opposing the plans citing concerns about development of Green Belt land.
The campaign groups, Foxglove and Global Action Plan, are being represented by law firm Leigh Day.
Leigh Day said its clients say the decision by the government “ignored the vast electricity and water demands of the data centre, and failed to properly consider its climate impact”.
The firm added that its clients said “given hyperscale data centres consume enormous amounts of power and water and generate large volumes of carbon emissions – the Woodlands Park project could lock in decades of increased resource use, place new strain on local utilities, and undermine the UK’s net zero goals”.
Critically, the claimants say the secretary of state was legally required to demand an environmental impact assessment before making her decision, but it was made without one so was therefore unlawful.
They also claim the government “failed to consider obviously material factors such as the development’s water needs, electricity demand and associated carbon emissions”.
Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said: “Angela Rayner appears to either not know the difference between a power station that actually produces energy and a substation that just links you to the grid – or simply not care.
“Either way, thanks to her decision, local people and businesses in Buckinghamshire will soon be competing with a power guzzling-behemoth to keep the lights on, which as we’ve seen in the States, usually means sky-high prices.
“It’s no secret just how much of our critical resources hyperscale data centres use, but the government has, bafflingly, decided to approve a new power guzzler smack bang in the middle of the Home Counties near London – and not even bothered to do its own environmental assessment. That’s not good enough and we are happy to see them in court to fix it.”
Global Action Plan head of campaigns Oliver Hayes said: “Big Tech’s ‘nothing to see here’ approach to the threats AI data centres pose for precious local resources and the planet is going unchecked by Angela Rayner.
“The deputy prime minister’s lack of meaningful scrutiny of this application has serious consequences for people in Buckinghamshire and sends a worrying signal to communities across the country that more and bigger data centres are inevitable.
“As the purported benefits of AI come up against the very real and immediate costs, the cracks are clearly beginning to show in the Government’s AI agenda.
“Are the societal benefits of chatbots and deepfakes really worth sacrificing progress towards a safe climate and dependable water supply? The government must reconsider its rash decision or risk an embarrassing reality check in court.”
Leigh Day environment solicitor Rowan Smith said: “The clients are rightly concerned that, in rejecting the need for a full environmental impact assessment, the Inspector failed to consider whether the data centre’s use of natural resources, including the massive quantities of drinking water required to keep it operational, would be likely to have a significant effect on the environment.
“Given this glaring omission, we hope that the Secretary of State will see sense and agree to the Court quashing the planning permission.”
A Greystoke spokesperson told NCE: “As the Secretary of State recognised, West London Tech Park meets a vital national need for digital infrastructure, and will bring over £1bn of investment, transforming a former landfill site next to the M25 into a state-of-the-art data centre.
“Modern data centres play a key role in advancing scientific research, medical diagnostics and sustainable energy. The data centre campus incorporates measures which benefit the environment, including appropriate building standards, solar panels and heat pumps.
“The Secretary of State took all relevant matters into account and reached the right decision in determining to grant planning permission for West London Tech Park.”
Government reiterates position as set out in decision letter
A government source told NCE that it does not comment on threats of legal action.
On 9 July 2025, under the current government, planning permission was granted for the construction of a new data Centre at Woodlands Park landfill site, land south of Slough Road, Iver, Buckinghamshire.
The reasons for the decision, which made by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government minister of state Matthew Pennycook MP on behalf of the Secretary of State, were set out in full in a published decision letter.
A public inquiry was held in June 2024, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector, and the decision is in line with the Planning Inspector’s recommendation.
The source added that it would not be appropriate to comment further as the reasons for the decision have already been shared in the decision letter.
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