This article in, The Echo today, underlines why it is necessary for proper policies to be developed that can exercise some control over where and how data centres can be built.

Whilst it is good news to hear that the UK economy is picking up, apparently fuelled by investment in A.I. technologies, the prospect of data centres springing up everywhere across the south of England makes me very concerned, especially in the light of Government changes to planning laws that mean Councillor’s have a lot less say and influence over planning matters.

The Motion I have drafted for the next meeting of Hampshire County Council, (on the 26th November), calling for more control and policy will hopefully attract enough cross party support to bring it about.

In all the discussions I have with people, it seems there is general agreement that data centres do cause environmental harm, do represent a risk to jobs, do make unreasonable demands upon our ability to generate power and therefore represent a risk to our electricity supplies. There is something of an uncontrolled headlong risk to adopting these new technologies..

I am neither “for” or “against” Data Centres, but I do think we need to fully understand the consequences of building and using them, especially on a scale being considered.