News

Together with tech justice non-profit Foxglove, we have launched the UK’s first legal challenge against the government forcing through construction of a new hyperscale data centre in Britain.

The challenge contests the decision of the then-Deputy Prime Minister to ignore the vast water and power consumption of the new data centre and to overrule the will of the local council in Buckinghamshire who had opposed construction of the new 90MW data centre at a former landfill site at Woodlands Park, Iver. 

Foxglove and Global Action Plan filed a formal planning statutory review this week, asking the court to quash her decision in this matter. 

Hyperscale data centres consume huge amounts of finite and increasingly scarce resources, including power and drinking water, as well as generating large amounts of new carbon emissions. For example, just one new data centre project in the North East will emit as much carbon dioxide as Birmingham Airport. 

When data centres compete with households and businesses for power from the grid in a local area it tends to result in rocketing energy prices. The growing power requirements of data centres risk also stalling the UK’s climate action, as demand could outstrip supply of new renewables. 

The then-Secretary of State's action at Woodlands is the third time she overruled a council to force through a data centre’s construction, following previous decisions at Court Lane, also in Iver, in December 2024 and Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire in May 2025. 

It has been reported in the Financial Times that there are “tensions” between the departments of cabinet ministers Peter Kyle and Ed Miliband over “the energy consumption of large AI projects”.  It appears the then-Secretary of State picked a side in the cabinet battle, choosing to side with Kyle against Miliband, despite a lack of consideration of the tangible societal benefits – or lack of – that come from AI data centres.  

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 the Secretary of State.   

“The then-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.” 

Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said: "[Then Secretary of State]..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 big data centres use, but the government has, bafflingly, decided to approve a new hyperscaler 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.” 

Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith said: “Our 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.” 

Support our Crowdfunder

We need to raise money to cover the essential costs of taking the government to court, and we need your help.

Your support will make sure we can see this challenge through — and stand up for our environment, our resources, and our communities.  Please donate here.

Donate here

Media enquiries

Please send media enquiries about this story to [email protected]