Latest news with #PottersBar
BBC News
4 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Data centre targeting London's green belt
"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 huge development on land near to her home. She is passionate and angry. In a yellowing wheat field, next to an oak tree, we are standing on the front line of huge changes to London's green is 85 acres of green belt on the edge of London between Potters Bar and the South Mimms service station. It is criss-crossed by footpaths and looks like it is used a is where a Europe's largest cloud and AI data centre will be built, the aim to provide jobs and economic growth. Ms Albrecht says the data centre will devastate the green belt here."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 group of residents against the data centre are by the an tree. They have tied ribbons to it and posters. Carmen Rampersad lives locally. "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 is a protester who worries about the potential health impact of the project."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 has lived in the area all his life."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." 17 London data centres planned London and the South East house some of Europe's biggest data centres. For example, Slough is now considered to be the largest data centre hub in data centres are where pretty much anything on your phone or computer is stored - the cloud, websites, social media, pictures, music and are on the way, particularly with the rise of artificial to figures from construction researchers Barbour ABI, developers are applying to build 17 data centres in London, as well as another 39 in 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."It also says the land should be seen as grey belt, which the government says can be used for development."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."The developer also says it intends to also create wildlife habitats."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." Data centres are resource-hungry and use a lot of electricity to keep the servers cool and the internet also use a lot of water for cooling. In the 2022 drought, Thames Water looked at how much water data centres in the area were Grid's chief executive, John Pettigrew, has previously said that the power data centres use will increase sixfold in the next said the grid was becoming "constrained" and "bold action" was needed to create a network able to cope with "dramatically" growing demand. 'Balancing act' The local Hertsmere Borough Council has given the data centre the go-ahead. The leader Jeremy Newmark is 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."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘It's like Alcatraz': The home county under siege from Rayner's green belt blitz
In a sleepy town on the edge of Hertfordshire, a revolt is brewing to protect prized green space from a slew of major developments. The uprising came together in a packed church hall meeting last week, attended by more than 100 Potters Bar residents opposed to plans to concrete over local land. The group has already set its sights on blocking a number of projects, including plans for Europe's biggest data centre in South Mimms and a separate 900-home development nearby. 'The data centre will be enormous, and it's going to have high-security fencing all the way round with security lights on 24 hours a day,' says Margaret Ohren, one of the meeting's organisers who has lived in Potters Bar for 32 years. 'It'll be like building Alcatraz in the middle of Potter's Bar. It's absolutely ridiculous.' With plans for developments creeping closer to town boundaries, Ohren fears that Potters Bar will become 'another London borough'. 'Potters Bar is a town that is like an island, and we're surrounded by green belt,' she says. 'If all these proposals go ahead, we'll be subsumed into a load of buildings.' The town is one of many places in Hertfordshire facing an onslaught of proposals on green belt land, with the county fast becoming a flashpoint in Angela Rayner's building blitz across the countryside. Findings shared by CPRE Hertfordshire, a local charity, show that 65pc of large-scale proposals it has screened since the Government published its new national planning policy framework (NPPF) in December are on green belt land. Those include two mammoth data centres, including the South Mimms site and a separate 84,000 sq metre project in Abbots Langley, which was approved by Rayner's team last week. In North Herts, a 45-hectare solar farm in Wandon End is also going through a public inquiry after its developers appealed to the Housing Secretary to overrule the council's decision to block the site. A 15-minute drive away, a 35.5-hectare solar farm and battery storage system is set to be built at Sperberry Hill. This is alongside a number of proposed residential developments, with 4,800 homes planned across Hertfordshire's green belt. Chris Berry, of CPRE Hertfordshire, claims there is an 'unrelenting onslaught' in Hertfordshire, as there are 10 solar farms waiting in the wings alongside seven battery storage systems, six of which have already been approved. Campaigners and residents blame the development blitz on inconsistencies in the Government's definition of the 'grey belt', which is deemed lower-quality green belt land, such as disused car parks. To stem the tide, CPRE has begun a national petition urging the Government to amend its definition of the 'grey belt', which has garnered more than 1,400 signatures at the time of writing. Debating the Government's new Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the Commons last week, Matthew Pennycook, Labour's housing minister, said the test of what qualifies as grey belt is 'very clear in the NPPF', and the framework is 'clear' that the green belt can only be built on in 'exceptional circumstances'. However, Abby Coften, chief executive of CPRE Hertfordshire, says the way it is defined is 'giving developers free rein' to build in the countryside. 'There are so many contradictions between national policy and what's happening on the ground,' says Coften. 'It's devastating for the countryside, wildlife, our own environment and our health and well-being. 'Planning applications which have been refused are now coming back because developers are seeing an opportunity from inconsistencies in the NPPF.' More than 29,000 homes could be built on Hertfordshire's brownfield sites, according to CPRE. 'If you think about that on a national level, these sites could be redeveloped, they could provide affordable housing and that would avoid us building all over the countryside,' says Coften. 'The Government clearly wants all of these additional homes, and they're not prioritising the environment.' Gary Ansell, chair of the Kings Langley and District Residents Association, says that in more than 25 years of heading the group, he says it is 'the worst we've ever seen in terms of developments happening'. 'We accept that development needs to happen and it's good to use brownfield,' says Ansell, but he adds that major projects are 'eating away at our green belt'. 'The biggest fear is that our village is suffering a death by a thousand cuts,' he says. 'We're losing our identity as a historic village in Hertfordshire.' Hertfordshire's green belt has been made all the more vulnerable because of national pressure to 'build, build, build', says David Zerny, a fellow Kings Langley resident. 'Introducing grey belt but without a clear definition means that ultimately, inspectors are not given much guidance and that means the green belt is now very vulnerable,' he says. Mr Zerny says Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Watford are also under 'particular threat' if more land near the M25 can be counted as grey belt. 'The purpose of the green belt, ironically, was to give Londoners a place to go for recreation, for mental health,' he adds. 'Taking that away from us hurts Londoners as much as it hurts people who live here in the shires.' Oliver Cooper, leader of the Conservatives on Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire, representing the village where he grew up, says a huge amount of development has been pushed out of London into the home counties, including in Hertfordshire. 'A lot of that is based on the fact that the grey belt, as a concept, has been completely mis-sold,' says Mr Cooper. 'If Keir Starmer were a shopkeeper using that script, he would probably be prosecuted by Trading Standards.' In response to criticism, the Government has argued that it will not put its target of building 1.5m homes by 2030 ahead of the environment. A spokesman for the Housing Department says: 'Our planning changes are about building on brownfield first, and clearly protecting long-standing green belt purposes while setting out a more strategic, targeted approach to this type of land. 'And while we are clear that we must build the homes and infrastructure that people need, our ambitious plans will not come at the expense of the environment.' However, back in Potter's Bar, Ohsen is demanding a nationwide plan to ensure the countryside is not left in the lurch. 'It's a crucial time,' she says. 'Save the green belt now, or we'll never see it again. 'I've got grandchildren - they need housing, but do they need housing on the green belt? If we join up all the towns in the South East, they're never going to see a cow, or a sheep, or a bluebell. It could be something they'll read about in books.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘It's like Alcatraz': The home county under siege from Rayner's green belt blitz
In a sleepy town on the edge of Hertfordshire, a revolt is brewing to protect prized green space from a slew of major developments. The uprising came together in a packed church hall meeting last week, attended by more than 100 Potters Bar residents opposed to plans to concrete over local land. The group has already set its sights on blocking a number of projects, including plans for Europe's biggest data centre in South Mimms and a separate 900-home development nearby. 'The data centre will be enormous, and it's going to have high-security fencing all the way round with security lights on 24 hours a day,' says Margaret Ohren, one of the meeting's organisers who has lived in Potters Bar for 32 years. 'It'll be like building Alcatraz in the middle of Potter's Bar. It's absolutely ridiculous.' With plans for developments creeping closer to town boundaries, Ohren fears that Potters Bar will become 'another London borough'. 'Potters Bar is a town that is like an island, and we're surrounded by green belt,' she says. 'If all these proposals go ahead, we'll be subsumed into a load of buildings.' The town is one of many places in Hertfordshire facing an onslaught of proposals on green belt land, with the county fast becoming a flashpoint in Angela Rayner's building blitz across the countryside. Findings shared by CPRE Hertfordshire, a local charity, show that 65pc of large-scale proposals it has screened since the Government published its new national planning policy framework (NPPF) in December are on green belt land. Those include two mammoth data centres, including the South Mimms site and a separate 84,000 sq metre project in Abbots Langley, which was approved by Rayner's team last week. In North Herts, a 45-hectare solar farm in Wandon End is also going through a public inquiry after its developers appealed to the Housing Secretary to overrule the council's decision to block the site. A 15-minute drive away, a 35.5-hectare solar farm and battery storage system is set to be built at Sperberry Hill. This is alongside a number of proposed residential developments, with 4,800 homes planned across Hertfordshire's green belt. Chris Berry, of CPRE Hertfordshire, claims there is an 'unrelenting onslaught' in Hertfordshire, as there are 10 solar farms waiting in the wings alongside seven battery storage systems, six of which have already been approved. Campaigners and residents blame the development blitz on inconsistencies in the Government's definition of the 'grey belt', which is deemed lower-quality green belt land, such as disused car parks. To stem the tide, CPRE has begun a national petition urging the Government to amend its definition of the 'grey belt', which has garnered more than 1,400 signatures at the time of writing. Debating the Government's new Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the Commons last week, Matthew Pennycook, Labour's housing minister, said the test of what qualifies as grey belt is 'very clear in the NPPF', and the framework is 'clear' that the green belt can only be built on in 'exceptional circumstances'. However, Abby Coften, chief executive of CPRE Hertfordshire, says the way it is defined is 'giving developers free rein' to build in the countryside. 'There are so many contradictions between national policy and what's happening on the ground,' says Coften. 'It's devastating for the countryside, wildlife, our own environment and our health and well-being. 'Planning applications which have been refused are now coming back because developers are seeing an opportunity from inconsistencies in the NPPF.' More than 29,000 homes could be built on Hertfordshire's brownfield sites, according to CPRE. 'If you think about that on a national level, these sites could be redeveloped, they could provide affordable housing and that would avoid us building all over the countryside,' says Coften. 'The Government clearly wants all of these additional homes, and they're not prioritising the environment.' Gary Ansell, chair of the Kings Langley and District Residents Association, says that in more than 25 years of heading the group, he says it is 'the worst we've ever seen in terms of developments happening'. 'We accept that development needs to happen and it's good to use brownfield,' says Ansell, but he adds that major projects are 'eating away at our green belt'. 'The biggest fear is that our village is suffering a death by a thousand cuts,' he says. 'We're losing our identity as a historic village in Hertfordshire.' Hertfordshire's green belt has been made all the more vulnerable because of national pressure to 'build, build, build', says David Zerny, a fellow Kings Langley resident. 'Introducing grey belt but without a clear definition means that ultimately, inspectors are not given much guidance and that means the green belt is now very vulnerable,' he says. Mr Zerny says Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Watford are also under 'particular threat' if more land near the M25 can be counted as grey belt. 'The purpose of the green belt, ironically, was to give Londoners a place to go for recreation, for mental health,' he adds. 'Taking that away from us hurts Londoners as much as it hurts people who live here in the shires.' Oliver Cooper, leader of the Conservatives on Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire, representing the village where he grew up, says a huge amount of development has been pushed out of London into the home counties, including in Hertfordshire. 'A lot of that is based on the fact that the grey belt, as a concept, has been completely mis-sold,' says Mr Cooper. 'If Keir Starmer were a shopkeeper using that script, he would probably be prosecuted by Trading Standards.' In response to criticism, the Government has argued that it will not put its target of building 1.5m homes by 2030 ahead of the environment. A spokesman for the Housing Department says: 'Our planning changes are about building on brownfield first, and clearly protecting long-standing green belt purposes while setting out a more strategic, targeted approach to this type of land. 'And while we are clear that we must build the homes and infrastructure that people need, our ambitious plans will not come at the expense of the environment.' However, back in Potter's Bar, Ohsen is demanding a nationwide plan to ensure the countryside is not left in the lurch. 'It's a crucial time,' she says. 'Save the green belt now, or we'll never see it again. 'I've got grandchildren - they need housing, but do they need housing on the green belt? If we join up all the towns in the South East, they're never going to see a cow, or a sheep, or a bluebell. It could be something they'll read about in books.'
