Upminster data centre may ‘significantly’ impact environment

A proposed major development in Havering could have a “significant” environmental impact, according to council planning officers.

Plans to build “Europe’s largest data centre” on green belt land opposite Top Meadow Golf Course in Fen Lane, Upminster are currently being considered by Havering Council.

An area of up to 390,000 square metres could be earmarked for the data centre, and associated electrical substations, distribution and infrastructure equipment, green energy production, together with indoor agriculture farming operations among other things.

The project is a joint venture between the council and technology company Digital Reef, and will reportedly involve a £5.3 billion investment that would be made by companies from overseas.

An earlier report claimed that 2,800 local jobs are predicted to be created during its five-year construction period.

Read More: Climate group concerned about Upminster data centre plans

It also stated that the data centre will be a “carbon-neutral facility” with a greater emphasis on using renewable energy.

However, a screening opinion issued recently by council planning officers has said that the development would be both “permanent and irreversible” and divert the land from its existing agricultural use.

The land, they added, is close to the river Mardyke, that has its associated flood zones extending “significantly” into the site.

Officers felt that the benefit of an energy efficient development in the long term “does not outweigh” the impact the construction project would have on resources that could be used like water, materials and energy.

They wrote: “The proposed uses are likely to have a significant impact on the environment as result of changes in hydrology, increased traffic or air quality impacts during construction phase.”

They also suggested that the development would “unlikely blend in with the existing rural environment” and affect the “historic and cultural importance features” in the area.

Officers concluded that the project would require a thorough environmental impact assessment, given the scale of potential impact on environmental resources in the locality.

Local climate groups like Havering Friends of the Earth have already shared their concerns about the proposal and said “Green belt should be protected and not allowed to be gradually taken away.”

The detailed report can be found on this link: https://msp.havering.gov.uk/planning/search-applications#DOC?DocNo=2809834