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Datacentre developers tout benefits to local communities, but do they deliver? | Computer Weekly
Aaron Saran is worried about his family business. His freight distribution company PNL, which has been based in Southall in west London for 30 years, had to move last year after a developer bought the industrial site it operated from to build a datacentre.
PNL’s new premises are smaller and lack a warehouse. Saran found it hard to find a suitable space with reasonable rent and is concerned he will have to move out of Southall and away from clients.
“One side of the business is already gone,” he said. “We don’t know how to grow.”
Neighbouring businesses at PNL’s former location on the International Trading Estate told Computer Weekly they, too, are worse off as a result of the development.
There are around 200 datacentres in the UK, and most artificial intelligence (AI) datacentres are still in planning or under construction. The UK government has gone so far as to designate datacentres as critical national infrastructure, and has announced “AI growth zones” for datacentre construction in parts of the country.
Although datacentres fulfil key functions, powering everything from chatbots to medical imaging, they have prompted protests, controversy and growing scrutiny. AI is driving a sharp increase in datacentre energy demand, with some projections suggesting it will exceed the electricity use of cryptocurrency mining at its peak. And research shows that datacentre energy consumption is straining local power grids and contributing to higher electricity costs for nearby residents.
Developers, meanwhile, are seeing the value of community support and are touting the benefits the developments can bring, from funding for local infrastructure, education and training, to the creation of jobs.
But can these benefits – which rely heavily on negotiation and the goodwill of the developer – make up for the impact a development has?
Can datacentres deliver local benefits?
In Southall, home to a large South Asian community and a significant number of small to medium-sized enterprises, businesses have faced challenges due to rising rents and a decrease in industrial estate capacity. The growing AI datacentre industry – along with other large players such as film studios – is one reason for this, according to a study from Ealing Council in 2022, which noted that “strong demand” for industrial space “could displace small businesses”.
Rent for industrial estates has risen “to a stupid level”, says Saran, making it untenable for transport and logistics companies such as his to stay where they are and close to their customer base. “Local businesses are being pushed out, 15 to 30 miles away,” he says, which he predicts will lead to price increases for customers. “The only way we could possibly grow is by leaving west London altogether. If I do relocate, most of my staff will leave,” he adds.
As a gesture to businesses affected by its development at the industrial estate in Southall, the developer, GTR – backed by private equity firm KKR – has agreed to provide £750,000 towards a “local economy management plan”. This plan is part of a larger agreement called an S106, which is a legally binding contract between a developer and a local planning authority, used to mitigate the impact of a new development on the local area. The agreement also involves the developer committing additional sums in the tens of millions towards training, education and infrastructure improvements in Southall.
According to John Booth, managing director of sustainability-focused IT consultancy Carbon3IT, the implied function of these community benefits agreements is clear: they can be seen as a “bribe” to help “get a project over the line”.
Agreements aim to mitigate local impact
The scope of such an agreement can be broad, although it must be tied in some way to the nature of the development. Agreed-upon benefits can range from money for training and education, to revamped local parks, healthcare and infrastructure.
The plan for the datacentre in Southall aims to “address potential disruption arising from the loss of traditional industrial units” by “assisting affected businesses” and providing “support for business relocations to minimise economic disruption”.
Computer Weekly spoke with six businesses on Saran’s old estate, which said they had been adversely affected by the development. They claimed they had not received the support they needed, and that they had not heard of a plan to help “affected businesses”.
Some companies said they had lost business as a result of the move, and several said they were struggling to find an affordable site to move to. Two businesses said they had been evicted after struggling to move, with one – metalworks firm Makson’s – being asked to pay £1,800 plus VAT per day for a security guard to let them in to get their belongings back, as well as legal costs of £1,750 plus VAT (halved from £3,500 plus VAT, as a gesture of goodwill).
GTR told Computer Weekly that Ealing Council was responsible for managing and delivering the plan to help affected businesses. Ealing Council did not respond to questions from Computer Weekly.
“The GTR team has worked closely with all tenants throughout the process, and we continue to assist those who remain on site. Supporting tenants effectively [and] efficiently is a priority for us, and a professional commitment that we take very seriously,” said GTR founder and CEO Franek Sodzawiczny in an emailed comment.
Why community engagement makes commercial sense
As people globally have pushed back against datacentre developments, engaging with communities has become a commercial decision, according to industry experts.
Corporations are considering their interactions with communities more carefully, with a focus on messaging. In the US, Big Tech has spent a lot on advertising to help the image of datacentres.
In some instances, corporations have taken a more outwardly aggressive tack. At the end of January, the chief executives of American datacentre company Digital Realty, Blackstone-owned datacentre operator QTS and Japanese IT services company NTT Data announced that their companies would go “on the offensive” around datacentres.
“We stand on the foundation that we’re doing the right things in these communities,” said co-chief executive of QTS, Tag Greason, quoted in the Financial Times. “Going a little bit on the offensive is part of the plan for a number of us because the opposition is definitely on the offensive.”
But others – including OpenAI and Microsoft – see value in a more cuddly approach. In January, Microsoft announced its intention to build “community-first AI infrastructure”. That move came after the corporation was compelled to axe a datacentre development in Wisconsin in October 2025 after local protests. A few days later, OpenAI announced its developments would be “locally tailored” for each site and “driven by community input and local concerns”.
There are practical reasons to focus on community benefits, according to Venessa Moffat, executive director of UK industry body the Datacentre Alliance. “Structured community partnerships reduce organised opposition and cut planning delays” that could cost a developer tens of millions, wrote Moffat in a document shared with Computer Weekly.
Benefits vary widely across the UK
The UK has seen its share of opposition to datacentres, in the form of council refusals, protests and an ongoing legal case that objects to the lack of an environmental impact assessment.
In Hertfordshire village Abbots Langley, a controversial datacentre by developer Greystoke was given a green light by the government after the local council initially rejected it. Despite having been “deeply disappointed” when the development was pushed through, local council leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst seemed optimistic when he spoke to Computer Weekly in January.
“We all realised the chances of getting this refused were zero,” he said. “We have to move with the times.” Developer Greystoke was “receptive and open”, according to Giles-Medhurst, who added: “If we can get this right, we can get some real tangible benefits for the community.”
The benefits at Abbots Langley include a nature reserve and around £12m towards a local training and skills fund. Approximately £105,000 more will go to development-related sustainable transport. There are also plans for infrastructure to channel waste heat to a nearby housing development. The council is still in talks with the developer to negotiate further benefits, said Giles-Medhurst.
In the UK, the benefits a datacentre can bring to an area vary widely and can depend on the negotiating power of the council and the willingness of the developer to comply. Although this is the first datacentre to be built in Abbots Langley, Giles-Medhurst cited the council’s experience with Warner Brothers, which has been in the area since 2010, as giving the council knowledge of what could be asked for.
Developers often employ planning consultants. This can create “an imbalance of power” due to the complicated nature of the negotiations, said Kath Scanlon, distinguished policy fellow at the London School of Economics and deputy director at LSE London, an urban research group.
Negotiating leverage can also depend on site and location, said Scanlon. Land that is particularly valuable, such as in London and the South-East, gives the council more clout to get funding.
As a result, some agreements show a variety of benefits with higher sums involved, while others are more limited in their contributions.
For example, the GTR development in Southall has allocated a minimum of £20m in its community benefits agreement for highway improvement, air quality mitigation, carbon offsetting, employment and training, cycle infrastructure, bus services and street improvement, as well as an improvement to a bridge.
Meanwhile, the West London Technology Park development in Iver, Buckinghamshire, by Greystoke is set to receive £5m towards air quality mitigation. The development is the subject of a legal case that raises objections to the lack of an environmental impact assessment. The council had rejected two planning applications since 2022, but the appeal by Greystoke against the second of these was “recovered” by the newly installed Labour government in mid-2025.
As a result, benefit negotiations were overseen by the Planning Inspectorate rather than the council.
Nscale’s AI Campus in Loughton
There are other developments without this type of benefit agreement. These include Nscale’s Loughton AI Campus and the Cobalt Park development in Newcastle, associated with OpenAI.
When asked, a spokesperson for Nscale said the application had been made by a different company, and Nscale took it over with planning terms already in place. The spokesperson said Epping Forest Council had “opted to secure all requirements via 21 planning conditions rather than an S106 agreement”.
“Nscale was not a party to those original discussions, but as the new operator, we are fully committed to complying with all 21 conditions – including infrastructure and environmental safeguards,” said the spokesperson.
For Cobalt Park, developer Highbridge Properties, North Tyneside Council and OpenAI did not respond to questions about why an S106 wasn’t required.
Others involve large sums that aren’t mentioned in an S106. Investment management company Blackstone announced a development in Blyth, Northumberland, that included £110m to be put towards “long-term investment in growth and employment opportunities” in the region, but it wasn’t included in the development’s benefits agreement.
Why some perks are controversial
Meanwhile, some negotiated benefits have caused controversy. In a community feedback document from Greystoke’s Abbots Langley application, residents expressed derision about the proposed nature reserve.
“The communities of Abbots Langley and Bedmond can already access and walk among the existing green belt land via local footpaths,” wrote one resident. “Therefore, the ‘country park’ being put forward as a so-called benefit by the developers does not offer any gain and brings no additional benefit for local people or the environment.”
Another local resident wrote that the reserve’s location is “somewhat remote from the local population and with poor vehicular access”.
Another commenter accused the developers of seeking “to bribe local people with the idea of a country park”, adding: “This insults our intelligence. They would be giving us nothing.”
Council leader Giles-Medhurst acknowledged this view, but said it was “part of the planning permission”.
Can datacentres deliver on jobs?
Another widely advertised benefit that has caused controversy is jobs. The creation of thousands of jobs is often advertised as part of a datacentre’s benefits, but reporting has shown that most of these are short-term construction jobs.
“I don’t think it’s a plausible way to address growth at the whole economy level,” says economist and former Labour party adviser James Meadway, speaking of AI datacentre developments, claiming datacentres are “not going to create [many] jobs”.
In Southall, some businesses from the industrial estate are still waiting to be served their notice to vacate, while others continue to search for other sites and deal with the disruption to their businesses.
“This situation has affected our live projects, staff livelihoods and the families that depend on their income for living, [as well as] the overall business,” said director and co-owner of Makson’s, Pritesh Makwana.
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The MacBook Neo made quite a splash when it landed in March. $599 for a MacBook felt groundbreaking, and it was easy for casual onlookers to declare that Windows laptops had no true answer to it.
But what if I told you there was a Windows option that was better in almost every way? That’s the HP OmniBook 5, a laptop you’ve probably never heard of unless you watch the space closely. I’ve been recommending it ever since I tested it last month. The price has been fluctuating, but more often than not, the 14-inch model was selling for $500. You read that right: $500. Today, the cheapest, most consistent price you’ll find it for is $730 over at Walmart, but I’ve seen the HP frequently drop the price from $1,050 down to around $500.
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The HP OmniBook 5 Is Only $500
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Star Wars: Maul—Shadow Lord
From The Mandalorian to Skeleton Crew, Disney+ has produced a dozen Star Wars TV shows since its streaming debut, and fans are always clamoring for more. This month, that means the premiere of Star Wars: Maul—Shadow Lord, a gritty, animated series for adults that is set after the events of the universe’s famous Clone Wars and told from the perspective of Maul, one of the space opera’s most notorious supervillains. But it unravels more like a crime-drama, as it follows Maul’s rogue attempts to use his Sith skills to rebuild his Shadow Collective, a massive crime syndicate composed of Sith leaders, Mandalorian warriors, bounty hunters, and more, all united by the goal of usurping Darth Sidious and destroying his Sith Order. IYKYK.
The Testaments
The Handmaid’s Tale marked a watershed moment for Hulu when, in 2017, it became the first streaming series to nab the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series—solidifying the streamer’s reputation as a bona fide player. As that groundbreaking series signed off in 2025 after six seasons, it’s hardly surprising that Hulu would want to keep Margaret Atwood’s dystopian world alive, so now we have The Testaments. Set 15 years after the events of the original series, much of the series takes place at an elite prep school for young women learning to be the dutiful wives of the next wave of Commanders. Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) returns to terrify a new generation of young women, including Agnes (One Battle After Another’s breakout star Chase Infiniti), a pious young woman who is beginning to question the rules she has grown up obeying, and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a Canadian teen and recent Gilead convert—all of whom have secrets they’re keeping.
Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever
“There’s so much bad information that the good information gets drowned.” That’s the central thesis behind famed tech journalist Kara Swisher’s decision to dive headfirst into the science (and scams) of longevity—a multibillion-dollar industry that shows no signs of slowing—in this six-episode docuseries. Armed with her investigative skills and famously dry wit, Swisher talks to the brains behind brands promising wellness acolytes longer lives with everything from gene editing and AI-driven medical care to bleeding-edge anti-aging treatments. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, outspoken “biohacker” Bryan Johnson, nepo baby venture capitalist Reed Jobs, and Nobel Prize–winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna are among those who help Swisher separate fact from fiction in the quest to live forever.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
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Stranger Things: Tales From ’85
Much like Hulu wasn’t about to say goodbye entirely to The Handmaid’s Tale, just because Stranger Things said goodbye on New Year’s Eve doesn’t mean the gang from Hawkins, Indiana, is totally parting ways with Netflix. In this animated spinoff, the kids—Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max—are going back in time slightly, to 1985, where the friends are desperately trying to reacquaint themselves with “normal” life after their terrifying dealings with the Upside Down. But they soon realize that something is still amiss in Hawkins, and they quickly find themselves embroiled in yet another paranormal adventure. Much like the nostalgia-fueled live-action series, the animated show is meant to be reminiscent of the Saturday morning cartoons that were a staple of every ’80s kid’s pop culture diet. Notably, the show is also being heavily promoted as a more family-friendly entry in the series—meaning monsters for all. All 10 episodes will drop on April 23.
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer is officially dead—at least for now. In mid-March, Sarah Michelle Gellar announced via Instagram that Hulu had put a stake through the heart of the long-awaited Buffy reboot, which would see the ’90s icon reprise her role as the vampire world’s biggest headache. But just because there presumably won’t be new episodes to enjoy doesn’t mean you can’t revisit the beloved original series.
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