Save the Lammermuirs — Data Centre on a Special Landscape Area
Roxburghe Estates and Sunlaws Development Company's £2bn "Southside" proposal would place three two-storey buildings on Lammermuir moorland at Clawbare, near Longformacus in the Scottish Borders. It is at pre-application stage — a formal application to Scottish Borders Council is expected later in 2026. Over 6,000 people have already signed against it. Now, before it is lodged, is when a voice counts most.
AI Growth Zones — The Green Belt Loophole
UK government proposals to designate AI infrastructure as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects would allow data centres to bypass local planning objections entirely. Multiple sites across England's green belt and protected countryside are at risk. The Firewalkers is monitoring the consultation process and supporting community legal challenges.
Water Consumption — The Hidden Cost of AI Cooling
Large language models require enormous volumes of water for server cooling. A single data centre can consume millions of litres per day. In the UK, multiple proposed sites sit above or adjacent to water-stressed catchments. Current planning frameworks do not require cumulative water impact assessments across a region.
Grid Pressure — Data Centres and the UK Electricity Network
The pipeline of proposed data centres in England and Scotland would collectively require an estimated 20GW of new electricity capacity by 2035 — equivalent to adding twenty nuclear power stations to the grid. National Grid has flagged that connection queues are running three to five years behind demand in areas with the highest concentration of applications.
Didcot Brownfield — A Model Worth Watching
A proposed data centre on former industrial land in Didcot, Oxfordshire is being watched as a potential positive precedent for responsible siting. The application cites existing grid infrastructure, brownfield status, and proximity to existing commercial development. If approved, it could establish a replicable model the movement can cite in objections to greenfield applications.
Biodiversity Net Gain — An Underused Objection Ground
The Environment Act 2021 requires all major developments in England to deliver a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain. Data centre applications on greenfield, moorland, or agricultural land frequently fail to demonstrate credible BNG plans. This is a legally robust objection ground that communities and planning consultees can deploy in formal responses.
2,000+ Planned Globally — The Scale of the Build-Out
Over 2,000 new data centre projects are in various stages of planning and construction worldwide. The majority are concentrated in the US, EU, and UK, but the build-out is accelerating across Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Planning frameworks in most jurisdictions were designed before AI infrastructure emerged as a land use category at this scale.
Communities That Have Won — The Evidence Base
Planning objections work. Since 2022, at least fourteen data centre applications in the UK and Ireland have been refused, withdrawn, or materially modified following organised community objection campaigns. The pattern is consistent: early awareness, coordinated responses citing specific policy grounds, and media attention increase the probability of a favourable outcome significantly.