Blyth and Ashington MP compares number of jobs created by £10 billion datacentre to an Aldi or Lidl

US firm Blackstone has confirmed it is looking to finance the creation of a datacentre campus to power AI technology at Cambois near Blyth.

Officials from the investment fund and its datacentre subsidiary QTS this week confirmed that the development would employ around 400 “highly skilled” people once completed.

This is in addition to over 1,000 long-term construction jobs and roughly 2,600-2,700 indirect jobs.

However, Mr Lavery pointed out that the aborted plans to build an electric vehicle battery gigafactory would have provided significantly more jobs for the region.

He said: “To support the AI revolution data centres like this are essential and I am pleased that the Labour government have designated them as critical national infrastructure. However, the number of jobs created locally in the operational phase will be many thousands fewer than the gigafactory first proposed for the site.

“The industrial land in Cambois, widely seen as some of the best in the country, risks being used for high space low employment developments which will give limited benefits to local people.”

The Labour MP also questioned the figure of 400 jobs on-site, arguing figures provided by the House of Commons (HoC) Library around the usual number of datacentre employees was lower at around 157 jobs per year, though this was for a significantly smaller area.

The HoC figures also show that a datacentre of that size adds $32.5 million to local economic activities and the jobs that are created are “often high-paid”.

Mr Lavery also discussed the issue on the BBC’s Politics North programme. He said he wanted “reassurance” that local people would benefit from the £10 billion investment.

He added: “The reality is, you could build an Aldi or a Lidl for £5 million and you could get 200-250 people employed there for much less.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Lavery explained his comments further.

He said: “We are desperate for good quality jobs locally and this must be the focus for future developments. Whilst, clearly I do not believe a supermarket should be built on the site it highlights a point on job creation and the impact on local people.

“A potential £10 billion development that creates a handful of jobs, however critical to national infrastructure, must deliver benefits to local people in other ways. Council officers assure me that the upgrades to infrastructure which will be necessary to facilitate the data centre will be attractive to future industry in the area.”

The deal brokered by the county council with Blackstone and QTS for the purchase of the site included a £110 million fund to be used for job creation and growth in Northumberland. The money will be paid out in tranches as certain milestones, such as the approval of planning permission, are met.

Mr Lavery said: “The funding associated with the development is welcomed and should partly be ringfenced to provide the people of Bedlington with a leisure facility, something they have long campaigned for.”

Responding to Mr Lavery’s comments, the Tory leader of Northumberland County Council Glen Sanderson said: “Some people in the Labour Party are never happy about any good news that the Conservative-run county council have delivered.

“This is no exception. This will provide thousands of jobs in the short term and many more in the long-term with the investment funding.

“It is fantastic. What Labour colleagues aware of is the huge amount of interest we are getting for Northumberland. Northumberland is a super county, it’s really thriving.

“The current figures for growth show us to have fare greater growth in Northumberland than many other parts of the country. Sometimes, we need to put party politics to one side and think about residents – it’s not about scoring points.

“We have to accept that this administration has delivered a lot of jobs.”

Responding to this, Mr Lavery said: ” I will take no lectures from politicians who ran a local election campaign in 2021 promising and taking credit for 4,000 jobs on the Blyth Estuary that have never materialised.”