Devon data centre open days pushed back as petition gains 23,000 signatures

The consultation period for an 850-acre AI data centre and battery storage facility has been extended, with public information events postponed.

Developer Xlinks is proposing to build the largest ever AI data centre and energy storage facility in the UK on farmland between Torrington, Huntshaw and Weare Gifford.

A series of public information events scheduled to be held in those communities from next week have now been pushed back until ‘after the summer holidays’, according to the Xlinks website.

The website says the company’s own consultation, set to run from July 14 until August 11, has been extended although no exact revised dates are available at this time.

A statement on the site referring to the public information days, said: “We are moving them to later in the year, to allow more time to talk with local residents and to avoid the summer holiday period. New dates will be announced once confirmed, with as much notice as possible.

“In the meantime, we will be running smaller, informal sessions in the local area to gather feedback and answer questions.”

The proposals have already received considerable opposition in the region and an online petition set up by campaign group Leave Devon Alone! stood at more than 23,500 signatures as of today (Thursday, July 9).

Xlinks is the company behind the now-stalled proposals for an undersea cable project to pipe renewable energy from Morocco to North Devon – it is now trying to establish a similar project in Germany.

The company intends to lodge two separate planning applications with Torridge District Council in October, one for the data campus and one for the battery energy storage system (BESS).

It said the £13.8billion data campus would deliver up to 1.5GW of ‘AI-optimised compute capacity’ - among the largest of its kind in Europe - supported by on-site battery energy storage of 1.8GW.

Xlinks says the project would support up to 3,500 jobs during construction and 600 to 1,200 permanent jobs. It claimed it would bring in revenue of £3.6bn a year.

The online petition at change.org - ‘Say No to Devon Data Campus’ had 23,581 signatures as of July 9.

A statement supporting the petition says: “This proposal threatens irreparable damage to our landscape, wildlife, biodiversity, farming, tranquillity and the communities that call this area home.

“It risks increased HGV traffic, noise, light pollution, pressure on local roads and water resources and the permanent loss of open countryside.

“Once this land is built on, there is no restoring it to what it was before. The damage would be irreversible, and future generations will inherit the consequences of decisions made today.

“North Devon is not an empty space waiting to be industrialised. It is a living landscape of farms, villages, wildlife and communities that have existed for generations.

“We believe this proposal is entirely inappropriate for this location and should not proceed.”