Life in Britain’s data centre capital: Constant humming, a straining energy grid and temperatures ‘2C higher’ thanks to 30 sites over one square mile

The massive cooling towers of a former power station still loom over the post-war semis that line the streets of Slough, Berkshire.

But in the town’s sprawling industrial core, new behemoths are changing the skyline just as dramatically.

Slough, made famous by the comedy series The Office, is home to Slough Trading Estate, the data center capital of England.

Trading Estate currently has a notable total of 30 data centers in one square mile; this is the highest density in Europe.

Owned and maintained by a variety of global companies, they store, process and transfer digital information for dozens of customers, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

There are around 40 data centers in total in Slough, and residents complained of sweltering temperatures made worse by them during the heatwave.

Emerging research, including a preprint of a paper led by Cambridge staff earlier this year, suggests that data centers create a heat island effect, increasing temperatures in their immediate surroundings by an average of 2°C and up to 9°C.

Centers require large amounts of electricity to keep thousands of computer servers running around the clock.

They also need powerful cooling systems, which require large amounts of water to prevent equipment from overheating, which could put pressure on local infrastructure.

Non-profit organizations Global Action Plan and Foxglove are said to be in the process of writing to Andy Burnham to request a moratorium on data center construction in Slough, the Daily Mail reported.

They previously forced the government to climb over a data center in The Woodlands, Buckinghamshire, after launching a groundbreaking legal challenge that prompted officials to admit they had made serious logical errors in environmental protection.

Global Action Plan community campaigns manager Owen Espley did not mention the exact contents of the letter but said he was ‘very concerned about the amount of energy that would be used in that area’.

‘An enormous amount of data centers are planned for this region and it is unclear how the energy grid will meet this demand,’ he said.

‘All the extra demand for electricity will require upgrades to the grid infrastructure, so the question arises: who bears the cost of these upgrades?’

Local residents complained that the centers produced a low humming sound that they could hear at night.

One housing resident who backed Trading Estate said he could cope with the noise but the heat during the recent hot spell was ‘unbearable’.

But the historic complex isn’t the only place dragged into the data center boom.

Leigh Tugwood, 66, lives in the pretty village of Iver, six miles from Slough, where half a dozen data centers are planned on the surrounding land.

Mr Tugwood, co-chairman of the Iver Heath Residents Association, said: “I have just been on the phone regarding the Global Action Plan and Mr Burnham will be receiving a letter soon.”

‘Most people don’t understand what a data center is; We have an uphill battle to educate people about what a data center is.

‘We’re not tech-savvy or NIMBY but we think there should be a moratorium. If you’ve started creating one, you should be prompted to pause it.

‘There isn’t a lot of research around but people in the US have described experiencing health problems due to noise, air and light pollution.

‘They won’t create jobs locally and AI is ultimately killing roles anyway. There is no evidence that a center creates X number of jobs over a period of time.

‘There are six sites within 16 minutes of the village of Iver and once the land becomes the property of these companies it cannot be used for anything else. It is land use sterilization.

‘This gold rush is being claimed by people who have nothing to do with the region or its needs.’

Less than an hour’s drive from Slough, another group of residents feel similarly disenfranchised.

In Potters Bar, just north of the M25, locals are rebelling against plans to dismantle a local beauty spot and replace it with a data center ‘the size of Wembley Stadium’.

US technology firm Equinix is ​​preparing to build an 85-acre site in the countryside near Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, sparking outrage among local residents.

A campus consisting of four separate buildings is being proposed, just a stone’s throw away from a prestigious school.

Fleur Albrecht, 61, lives opposite the proposed site, where there is a large oak tree under which locals regularly gather on sunny days.

“This view will no longer exist, these peaceful lands will no longer exist and the reason why so many people moved here will no longer be valid,” he told the Daily Mail.

Even if Equinix gets its way, the oak tree will remain, but the view that makes it unique will be lost, as the border of the center will be only a few meters from the point.

Equinix, one of the world’s largest data center operators, is proposing to invest £3.9 billion in the new centre, to be called the Hertfordshire Campus.

The campus will require 250 megawatts of power, enough to power 200,000 homes.

To meet demand, National Grid will provide the new campus with its own connection to the electrical grid, with the data center set to become operational in 2031.

Three of the four buildings will have a processing capacity of 72 megawatts and one will have a capacity of 48 megawatts.

Equinix says building the campus, close to South Mimms Services, will create 2,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent skilled positions.

At a consultation meeting with residents earlier this year, it was stated that the campus would generate £18 million a year from business income.

Draft planning permission was approved by Hertsmere Borough Council last year and final plans are expected to be submitted by the company next month.

With around 2 million square meters of home floor space, the center will be larger than Wembley Stadium. It is set to be 75 ft high.

Odette Garvey, 58, has two children who attend Dame Alice Owen School, just opposite the site.

‘As a resident and a parent I worry about safety, not to mention the loss of this beautiful area to noise, construction and data towers,’ he said.

‘Data centers were among the first places hit in the Iran war. There will be 240 diesel generators on this land that will operate during school hours.

‘Fumes and particles will float directly into the schoolyard.

‘And in the increasingly hot summer months we live in, we create a warm house on a green land.

‘Building this 500 meters from the school is negligence on the part of AI. The welfare of the residents of Potters Bar was not given a second thought.’

Ms Garvey believes this development will reduce the attractiveness of the local area.

He continued: ‘Areas like this are known as the ‘lungs of London’. That’s why people move here. There are already concerns about house prices.

‘I spoke to a real estate agent today and she told me that a house sale fell through this week because the buyers did some research, saw the data center plans and backed out of the sale because of them.

‘This is the tip of the iceberg. People will leave this area. ‘What’s the point of being here if there’s concrete on the fields?’

The main access area will see a permanent bridge built over the Mimmshall Stream, a local waterway that runs through the valley floor.

Campaigners from the Potters Bar Special Interest Group Residents’ Association are furious it will cut into an uninterrupted view of rapeseed fields and natural greenery.

Jo Godolphin, 59, lived in a nearby farmhouse for a decade when her children were young.

‘My children grew up here and we have incredible memories of all three of them being outside all the time and playing in nature,’ she said.

‘I don’t think a single thought has been given to what happened here. ‘This is a disgrace.’

Ms Albrecht said children at the nearby school used the grounds to ‘decompress’ during stressful exam times.

However, the group said most parents at the school were not from the local area, meaning there was no opposition from the school or from that part of the community.

Of the nearly 200 places offered in Year 7 each year, only 22 are reserved for those living closest to the school gate, which usually means those living around 1,000 meters from campus.

The remaining majority of intake is allocated through specific criteria that draw children from many kilometers away.

Ms Albrecht added: ‘The council has called us ‘obstructionists’ and ‘NIMBYs’ but I don’t believe they can mitigate the data center other than it not being built here.

‘Doesn’t the quality of life of people in a region matter?

‘I know we all need to embrace the future to some degree, and of course there are good things that AI and social media bring, but let’s be honest, there’s also a lot of nonsense.

‘Stupid cat photos, artificial intelligence and pointless aspects of ChatGPT come at a price and that’s it.

‘Everywhere you love is green; You can kiss him goodbye.’