Controversial AI Growth Zone letter is 'no longer valid', says Torridge council amid calls for its withdrawal

Torridge District Council says a letter it sent in support of a proposed AI Growth Zone near Great Torrington is “no longer valid”, after a councillor called for it to be formally withdrawn.

Torridge district councillor Huw Thomas (Green Party, Bideford East) raised the issue in a Facebook post, prompting comments from residents expressing concern. He said he would table a motion at the next meeting of full council on Monday, December 7, calling for the letter to be withdrawn.

The council has confirmed that an officer sent the letter to Xlinks on May 29, 2025, in support of the company’s expression of interest to establish an AI Growth Zone in Torridge. It said the letter was authorised by the leader of the council, councillor Ken James, and by councillor Bob Hicks, the lead member for economy and estates.

In a statement, the council said the letter, which the Gazette has seen, related to an unsuccessful application by Xlinks that was no longer active, so there was no need to withdraw it. It said it was not aware of a current application by Xlinks, or anyone else, for an AI Growth Zone in the district, and that it had no position on one because no proposal currently exists.

The council said the emerging AI data centre proposal had changed significantly since the letter was written, and that it would need to consider its position if it were asked for a further letter of support.

Councillor Thomas said in his post that the letter first came to light after Freedom of Information requests by campaigners from the Devon Data Centre & BESS Action Group, and that officers had redacted the names of who it was addressed to and who signed it. The council said it would not publish the name of the officer, only the names of councillors and members of its management team.

The Devon Data Centre & BESS Action Group have posted the letter on their Facebook page.

Councillor Thomas also claimed that the council had admitted, in response to formal questions he tabled, that the letter was written at the request of Xlinks. The council’s statement does not say whether that was the case.

He said: “I don’t believe the council should be endorsing bids by any commercial organisation without knowing the full impact of what’s proposed.” He said the letter was sent shortly after a presentation by Xlinks to councillors in May 2025, which, councillor Thomas said, did not mention the battery energy storage system plan that was announced later and gave no detailed information on the scale or location of the data centre.

He said only 18 of the 36 district councillors were at the informal briefing, that those present “did not endorse the proposal”, and that none of the information was circulated to councillors who were not there, including himself.

Councillor Thomas added that he felt the issue was not whether people thought the Xlinks plans were an “abomination” or would give ”Torridge a massive economic boost”, but that the council had given its support on the back of what was “essentially a sales pitch, without having any of the claims independently verified or assessing the wider impacts of the proposal.”

The council said the letter was written to explore the possibility of bringing higher-skilled employment to the area, with a view to tackling the social mobility challenges often faced locally. It said neither councillor James nor councillor Hicks had declared an interest, either in relation to the letter or to Xlinks.

Lead members are agreed each year by all councillors at the annual general meeting, and act as an advocate or spokesperson for a key theme of the council’s business, the council said.

Councillor James said the letter was intended to make it possible for the council to open further discussions about creating high-skilled, highly paid jobs in the district, should an AI Growth Zone and a data centre planning application be submitted and approved. He said it “was not a letter that indicated support for the specifics of a future data centre or its proposed location”.

The council gave its own account of how the process unfolded. It said the AI Growth Zone programme was launched on April 30, 2025, with a May 31 deadline for expressions of interest in the first round, and that the government changed the framework the next day. Applications are now assessed by the government as they are received, it said.

The council said it could not comment on how it might respond to a motion that had yet to be presented. If one is brought to the meeting on December 7, members will decide the response, it said.

Statement from Torridge District Council in response to request for comment regarding letter of support for AI Growth Zone near Great Torrington

The Council can confirm that a letter was sent by an officer from Torridge District Council to XLinks on May 29, 2025, in support of the Expression of Interest to establish an AI Growth Zone in Torridge. The letter was sent from the perspective of investigating the possibilities of bringing higher-skilled employment to the local area, with a view to addressing the social mobility challenges often faced in the area.

The letter was authorised by Ken James in his capacity as the elected Leader of Torridge District Council and Councillor Bob Hicks in his capacity as the elected member for Economy and Estates. Lead Members are agreed annually by all council members at the Annual General Meeting and are elected members who act as an advocate or spokesperson for a Key Theme of the Council’s business. Torridge District Council will not publish the name of the officer, only Councillors and management team names. No interests have been declared from either Councillor, either in relation to the letter or X-Links itself.

The AI Growth zone program was launched on April 30, 2025. At that time, applicants who wanted a proposal to be evaluated in the initial cohort to be chosen for the summer 2025 cycle had a deadline to submit their expressions of interest by May 31, 2025. Immediately following that deadline, on June 1, 2025, the Government shifted the framework.

The letter in question relates to an unsuccessful, Round 1, application by X Links that is no longer active and renders the letter no longer valid. Therefore, there is no need to withdraw the letter of support. The emerging AI data centre proposal has altered significantly since the original letters was written. The Council would need to consider its position in relation to any current proposal if it were asked for a further letter of support. The Council is not aware of a current application by the XLinks team, or anyone else, for an AI Growth Zone in Torridge.

There are no "Round 2" or "Round 3" structured deadlines; instead, the application process transitioned to an open rolling format that remains open indefinitely with no closing date. Proposals submitted after June 2025 will now be evaluated by the Government as they are received. The Council is unaware (and has not received) of a subsequent application and would need to consider its position in relation to that proposal if it were asked for a further letter of support.

The Council does not have a position (on AI Growth Zones near Great Torrington) because there is no current proposal for an AI Growth Zone on this, or any other, site in the District. The letter was written to the XLinks team in relation to an expression of interest that they made in May 2025. That formal application round for AI Growth Zones closed at the end of May 2025 and the XLinks application was unsuccessful.

It is not possible for us to comment on what response the Council might make to a Notice of Motion that is yet to be presented to the Council. If a Notice of Motion is presented to Council on the 7th December, members of the Council will decide what the response will be.

Statement from Councillor Ken James, Leader of Torridge District Council, in response for request to comment regarding letter of support for AI Growth Zone near Great Torrington

The letter sent in support of a potential AI Growth Zone was intended to make it possible for the Council to open further discussions about the creation of high-skilled, highly paid employment in the district should an AI Growth Zone and any data centre planning application be submitted and subsequently approved. It was not a letter that indicated support for the specifics of a future data centre or its proposed location.

As such, it was intended to leave the door open for opportunity should decisions (made by others and to the best of my knowledge with complete integrity), create conditions for a growth zone which could potentially attract significant and long-term investment and opportunities for local people.

As the Leader of the Council, I am extremely proud of how we have been able to attract investment to Torridge to deliver projects, create better jobs and increase opportunities for our residents.