England data center planning applications doubled in 2025, FOI requests reveal
Rose from 13 applications in 2024 to 26 in 2025
The rapid expansion of AI and data-driven technologies is creating unprecedented demand for data center infrastructure, accelerating planning and development efforts.
This surge in data center planning applications indicates a significant acceleration in the build-out of critical infrastructure necessary for compute and AI, signaling underlying economic and technological shifts.
The pace of data center development in England is clearly accelerating, suggesting increased investment and potential for new regional clusters of compute power.
- · Data center developers
- · Construction sector
- · Hyperscale cloud providers
- · AI companies
- · Residential developers (due to competition for land/power)
- · Local communities (potential strain on resources/environment)
Increased local economic activity in areas around new data centers through construction and operational jobs.
Heightened pressure on local energy grids and water resources, driving investment in associated infrastructure.
England could emerge as a more significant hub for AI compute infrastructure in Europe, potentially attracting further tech investment.
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Read at DataCenter Dynamics