“What they want to do here is a warning to anyone else: if you think you have got green belt and you think it will be there forever, say goodbye to it.”
Fleur Albrecht is protesting against a major development on land close to her home.
She is both passionate and angry.
Standing in a yellowing wheat field beside an oak tree, we are on the front line of sweeping changes to London’s green belt.
This 85-acre stretch of green belt land lies on the edge of London, between Potters Bar and the South Mimms service station. It is intersected by footpaths and appears to be well-used by the local community.
It is here that Europe’s largest cloud and AI data centre is set to be constructed, with the aim of driving job creation and economic growth.
Ms Albrecht believes the data centre will cause irreparable harm to the green belt in this area.
“This is the lungs of London. We are so lucky to have this open green space,” she tells BBC London.
“My house is 75 metres away from massive big sheds that they want to build on this green belt.
“It’s going to affect the enjoyment of coming out here. It’s a massive amount of sky, birdsong, see the seasons change – all of that will be gone.”
A small group of local residents opposed to the scheme have gathered by the tree, tying ribbons and placing posters in protest.
Carmen Rampersad is one of the local residents concerned.
“I’m completely against it,” she says. “One of the biggest worries I have is the consultation process. It hasn’t been transparent, it hasn’t been open and the vast majority of the people in this community are just finding out that this is happening after it has been approved.
“There’s a school 400 metres away from where the boundary will be and I think those children have a voice.
“From the information that I do know about data centres, I do know they use incredible amounts of resources for their cooling systems, be it water or energy. I don’t know where they’re going to tap into that here. But environmentally I think it’s going to be catastrophic.”
Bunty Shah, a fellow protester, is worried about the potential health implications of the development.
“Potters Bar is a sleepy commuter town surrounded by the M25,” she says.
“What you see here is the lungs of Potters Bar. You take this away there is going to be a lot of health effects for people that live here.
“There’s already issues with asthma because we are surrounded by the M25 so I think it’s ridiculous they want to put a data centre here on our bit of green belt that protects us from the M25.”
Colin Shepherd, who has lived in the area all his life, also opposes the project.
“It’s unbelievable,” he says. “Why do they want to build something like that here on premium farmland?
“It’s a place for people to come and walk and just enjoy the countryside and it seems terrible to cast it aside as ‘grey belt’ when it actually isn’t. I think the people of Potters Bar will be up in arms about it.”
London and the South East are already home to some of Europe’s largest data centres. For instance, Slough is now regarded as the biggest data centre hub on the continent.
These centres store almost everything accessed via phones or computers—including cloud services, websites, social media, images, and music.
More data centres are planned, particularly with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.
According to figures from construction analysts Barbour ABI, developers have submitted applications to build 17 data centres in London, along with an additional 39 across the Home Counties.
The developer dc01uk says: “Providing up to two million square feet of data centre floor area on land east of South Mimms Services, this facility will generate approximately 200 new highly skilled jobs and investment on this site, in addition to new employment opportunities during the construction phase, and significant investment value generated indirectly through the delivery of the project.”
The developer argues that the land in question should be considered “grey belt”, a classification the government allows to be developed.
“Whilst technically designated as green belt, the land performs poorly against the purposes of the green belt, being adjacent to South Mimms Services and the M25, and benefits from being set in a valley, meaning development can come forward in a sensitive way. The site can therefore be characterised as grey belt.”
They also claim the site will include new wildlife habitats as part of the development.
“The proposals come with plans to deliver significant biodiversity enhancements to ensure that we exceed 10% biodiversity net gain,” it said.
“Our proposals are landscape-led, with over 54% of the site being retained and enhanced as open space. Hundreds of new trees will be planted on site, and three landscaped belts will surround the proposed buildings, to the north, east and south of the site.”
However, data centres are notoriously resource-intensive. They consume vast amounts of electricity to keep servers cool and the internet functioning efficiently.
They also require substantial volumes of water for cooling purposes. During the drought of 2022, Thames Water examined the water usage of data centres in the region.
John Pettigrew, Chief Executive of National Grid, has previously stated that the power demand from data centres is expected to increase sixfold over the next decade.
He warned that the electricity grid was becoming “constrained” and called for “bold action” to build a network capable of meeting the “dramatically” rising demand.
Despite the controversy, the local authority—Hertsmere Borough Council—has approved the development.
Council leader Jeremy Newmark remains unapologetic.
“It’s about ensuring this borough is benefiting from the country’s digital future,” he told BBC London.
“It’s about ensuring we are playing our role in the national growth mission. It’s about powering jobs, building the skills we need around here and ensuring key parts of our economy have access to high-quality bandwidth they require.
“It’s always going to be a balancing act. In this case we have made a judgement call and that’s what leadership is about.
“It’s about making the choices that are right for this area. In fact my experience is the vast majority of people who have looked at this think it is the right thing as they understand that this area has a critical role to play in the new digital economy.
“This is very low-performing green-belt land. In this instance, we think sacrificing a small amount of green belt is worth it.”
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