£200m Data Centre Plans Submitted in Reading

Plans for a £200m data centre at the site of Microsofts former UK headquarters in Reading have been formally submitted to Wokingham Borough Council.

The proposal would see three office buildings at Thames Valley Park in Earley demolished and replaced by a data centre with main buildings up to 30.5m high - roughly the height of a 10-storey block of flats.

Mapeley, the property owner, says the scheme includes the data centre buildings, on-site power generation equipment, backup generators and some office space. Microsoft is due to leave the site completely when its lease expires at the end of 2027.

Planning documents say the facility could require up to 110MW of electricity, but just 1.8MW of National Grid capacity is currently available to the site. Developers therefore propose using natural gas to generate electricity on site while waiting for local network upgrades.

They also raise the prospect of using the heat from the data centre to feed a future district heating network serving places such as the Royal Berkshire Hospital, the University of Reading, Reading School and Kendrick School.

Mapeley bought the Microsoft site in 2005 and frames the plan as a £200m investment in Britains digital infrastructure. The development is expected to create up to 65 jobs once operational.

Parking would fall from 1,092 spaces to 72, but developers claim the data centre would generate about 1,700 fewer vehicle movements each day than the sites previous office use. The plans have prompted objections over noise, heat, carbon emissions, wildlife and proximity to Thames Valley Park Nature Reserve, while others back the site for major digital infrastructure.

A biodiversity assessment says the development would deliver a biodiversity net gain of more than 22 per cent, above the Governments 10 per cent requirement. Wokingham Borough Council will now consider the application, with a decision expected by March 2027. The application is on the councils planning portal under reference 262274.

Katie French, Local Democracy Reporter