Wokingham Data Centre Sparks Environmental Concerns

Local politicians must explain how they will weigh the economic case for a major IT data centre in Thames Valley Park against serious environmental warnings.

A consortium of consultants - BCS Consultancy, Hilson Moran, Twelve Architects, Arup and Alpaca Communications - is pushing plans for a 72MW facility on the Microsoft campus, calling it a transformative investment for an "underused" site.

The promoters say data centres are "Critical National Infrastructure" and would power banking, healthcare, streaming and cloud services, while creating up to 245 construction jobs, at least 115 permanent roles and more than £200 million of investment.

But former councillor and energy expert Katrin Harding has raised sharp objections ahead of a full council meeting, questioning how the scheme will be assessed, especially because of on-site power generation.

"If the data centre really uses 72 megawatts, that's twice the peak output of Barkham Solar Farm - like running 20,000 kettles at once," she said, underlining the scale of the energy demand.

She warned the developers' plan leans on natural gas. "At the moment, the power source is not renewable... what they're proposing is that it would use natural gas," she said, and warned the site could become the borough's largest source of greenhouse gases.

Ms Harding says heat-reuse promises and biodiversity commitments aren't enough. "More modelling is definitely needed... particularly during heat waves," she said, adding that "That heat could power 20,000 homes."

She also accused the backers of being "just a collection of consultants at this stage" rather than long-term operators, and said: "There's a lot of info missing... I'm very concerned about the carbon and the local heat impacts."

With national policy pushing rapid digital expansion, councillors now face a clear choice: accept the claimed benefits or demand far tighter answers on environmental risks.

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter