Who is opposing the project, and why
Jamie Robins, a staff member at conservation charity Buglife, brought a letter to a meeting outside Google’s UK headquarters in London, showing the results of a petition. It carries nearly 55,000 signatures calling on the company to abandon plans for a large data center in Thurrock.
Groups with different interests have joined the campaign. Buglife and local conservation organizations are concerned about a rare plant, a rare bumblebee and other invertebrates whose habitat could be destroyed by construction. Foxglove argues that the data center will produce excessive pollution. Motorcycle club Thurrock Hammers wants racing to return to the site of a former stadium.
Demonstrators held signs urging Google to find another location for the facility. Thurrock Hammers director Mark Sexton called the motorcycle club an unusual member of the coalition: it opposes the project for different reasons, which he believes helps draw attention to the broader campaign.
Why data centers are drawing protests
Companies across the UK are preparing to build large data centers. They provide the computing power behind AI models and other digital services. The government supports these projects, hoping to attract some of the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in the AI industry and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign partners for computing capacity.
But residents where construction is planned oppose the projects and are trying to delay their approval. Robins said groups of local activists opposing data centers are springing up every week. Residents are angered by construction near their homes, the disregard for local opinion and potential harm to nature.
Protests are also taking place elsewhere in Europe. Last week in Amsterdam, demonstrators climbed a crane at a Microsoft data center site and unfurled a banner with an anti-AI slogan.
What is planned for Thurrock
The site is next to a gas station, at the intersection of a major road and the highway that encircles London. The remains of Arena Essex, an abandoned motor-racing stadium, are still there. A meadow with walking trails and a lake are nearby.
Google acquired the site through a subsidiary in 2023 and applied for permission to build a data center complex there in May last year. After local residents learned of the plans, they joined forces with national conservation and environmental organizations. Of the 1,000 submissions sent to the body reviewing the application, only one supported the project. Thurrock Council says many submissions came from people who live outside the area.
Campaigners say the application does not adequately account for the project’s consequences:
Google’s response
Google says its opponents are relying on an inaccurate understanding of the project. The company promises to preserve some of the natural environment, relocate rare plants and achieve an overall increase in biodiversity. It plans to offset emissions by funding new sources of renewable energy, with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
The company also argues that demolishing the stadium will not deprive the local community of an important facility: the track has been out of operation for several years. Adam Elman, Google’s director of sustainability for the EMEA region, said the company shares the concerns of Buglife and other campaigners, recognizes the site’s ecological value and intends to minimize the project’s impact.
Protesters do not believe these assurances and plan to continue their campaign. Rob Pownall, founder of nonprofit Protect The Wild, who took part in the protest, acknowledged that he does not currently see much chance of stopping the project. But he compared the protest to a small blow against a huge block of ice.
A lengthy approval process
Some US states have already paused permit approvals and imposed moratoriums on data center construction. In this week’s midterm elections, candidates who supported their development suffered major defeats. In the UK, Foxglove recently won a legal challenge that forced the government to withdraw permission for a data center to the west of London.
Thurrock Council said it expects to decide on Google’s initial application early next year. The company will then have to prepare a more detailed development plan for the site, which will undergo another lengthy review. Jamie Robins warned that campaigns challenging construction projects like these can last for years and become a war of attrition.
Dataist’s take: The dispute in Thurrock shows that local consent is becoming a separate condition for building infrastructure projects for AI. Google is promising environmental measures, while activists point to potential harm and intend to challenge the project at every stage. A final decision on the application is not expected before early next year.
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