Warning there is a 'limit' to the number of data centres Northumberland can house amid overdevelopment concern

There has been a growing national backlash against the proliferation of data centres, due to complaints over the land, water, and energy needed to accommodate them – as well as the wider warnings over artificial intelligence’s threat to humanity in recent days.

Alongside a £10 billion facility at Cambois being built by US firm QTS, two other data centre applications are also currently under consideration by the county council.

If both are approved, Northumberland could see three of the large-scale developments built within a few square miles in the south east of the county.

Local residents have held demonstrations against the plans while Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery called for a “moratorium” on further construction in Parliament.

Speaking at a meeting of the council, Conservative leader Glen Sanderson said the council wanted to see economic investment – but that there was a limit to what would be accepted.

He also compared the situation to applications for a huge number of windfarms in the county over a decade ago.

He said: “We very much welcome the £10 billion investment in Cambois which will benefit all the county through the £110 million growth fund. However, there is a limit to how many data centres could be put in Northumberland.

“We have had some representations and they will be judged carefully. There are two more at the minute in the early stages that we will be looking at very carefully.

“We went through a period of time 10 years ago where there was a plethora of wind turbine applications. We had to get to a stage with planning that talked about overdevelopment and overcapacity which did reduce the amount of successful applications.

“I think it is fair to say that most members here are keen not to see overdevelopment of data centres. It’s not that we can stop developers putting in applications, but I’m keen to know what members think about that large-scale development, which we want to see – but not at any cost.”

Wansbeck Regeneration has submitted plans for a £3.8 billion data centre scheme at West Sleekburn, while another application at Factory Road in Cambois is at an earlier stage.

The QTS site is already slated to be one of the largest data centre sites in Western Europe, with 10 data centre buildings spanning over 133 acres and a total floor space of up to 540,000 square metres.

Meanwhile, mayor Kim McGuinness and the region’s council leaders are poised to sign off multi-million pound plans to boost the North East’s AI sector next week.

The North East was designated as an AI Growth Zone by the Government last year – with a pledge of 5,000 new jobs and £30 billion of investment.

Ms McGuinness and her cabinet will be asked on Tuesday to agree a £5 million public investment in those plans, to underwrite a promised Government grant which has not yet been delivered.

That funding, which the mayoral authority plans to reclaim from the Government retrospectively, will be used to deliver projects including entry-level AI skills training for primary school pupils.