Rejected Ivor data center gets Angela Rayner’s approval
The rejected plan to build a data center on green belt land has been approved by the Housing Secretary after an appeal.
Angela Rayner stepped in to lead proposals from Affinius Capital for a 65,000-square-metre (700,000 sq ft) site at the Court Lane Industrial Estate in Iver, Buckinghamshire.
Deputy Prime Minister’s decision reversed Buckinghamshire Council’s decision to reject the plans In October last year.
The site earmarked for the data centre, which is currently for mixed industrial use, is east of the M25 and is bordered by the Grand Union Canal as well as sewage and water treatment works.
According to Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook, the decision to approve the site was made on behalf of Rayner Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Published earlier this month, the decision cited economic reasons, including the creation of 200 construction jobs, among the justifications for the new tech hub, with the creation of an additional 90 jobs once the site opens.
Data centers are huge warehouses filled with computers that support services like artificial intelligence (AI) and streaming.
In September, the new Labor government nominated him “Critical National Infrastructure”To provide them with equal importance and security as water, energy and emergency services.
Pennycook considered the proposed Ivor Data Center to be in conflict with green belt policy, but said factors in favor of the proposal included the need for new data centres, re-use of already developed land, and investment and job creation.
