Parish council to hold crunch meeting on Friday over £2.2bn data centre in North Lincolnshire

An extraordinary parish council meeting is to be held over a proposed £2.2-£3bn AI data centre in North Lincolnshire.

South Killingholme Parish Council will hold the meeting on Friday evening, 7pm, at the village's community centre. North Lincolnshire Council representatives will be in attendance, and developer Greystoke Land representatives will attend to discuss and answer questions.

Application documents suggest Humber Tech Park has the potential to employ 370 full-time equivalent jobs, and thousands more during its construction. But dozens of village residents have already objected to it, with traffic, noise, pollution, and loss of agricultural land concerns foremost.

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The centre would be located on land just south of the A160 Habrough Roundabout. It would be up to 309,000 sq m, gross external area, with the data elements across three buildings. It would be capable of holding 384MW of IT load.

The scheme includes a proposed glasshouse, up to 10m high, which will be entirely heated by the excess heat of the data centre. There is also the potential for excess heat to be used as part of a district heating network - a district heating unit is referred to in the application.

More than 60 comments have been made on the application by individuals. A number of organisations and consultees have had their say too, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), National Grid, Historic England and Humberside Police.

"Bringing diversity of industry is essential to the future employment opportunities in the locality," comments one supportive individual. However, they are very much in the minority with residents who have commented overwhelmingly opposed.

"The company's three year construction estimate is going to cause considerable traffic problems with all the additional lorries taking materials to and from the site on a small road that is already very busy particularly at peak times," predicts one objector. Another labels the buildings as "such a huge blot on the already busy area".

One individual has objected as a local author and warned that AI will see their trade disappear. "This data plant is more evidence that this country is ignoring the wishes of this village and the environmental needs of the community just to make more tax revenue for Scunthorpe. People and the environment must come first.

"I am an author, having published a book this year I do not agree with AI. Creativity should be in the hands of humans. We need creativity and jobs. AI will see my trade disappear along with the last of the countryside I have grown up with. It is too big a sacrifice." Another objector states they have a non-verbal autistic child, and will move to a quieter area if the plans go through.

The CPRE northern Lincolnshire branch welcomed the glasshouse proposal and possible district heating network. But it has objected on the grounds it is "on a large greenfield site which will dominate the surrounding environment as a result of its substantial scale and massing".

North Lincolnshire Council's leader Cllr Rob Waltham has spoken previously of the development's potential. "This is a generational level of investment in the area and, if approved, would be a magnet for attracting other high-tech businesses. The jobs would be highly skilled and highly paid – averaging around £50,000 a year for operational employees – with many more employed during the construction phase."

The parish council meeting will not decide the application's fate - that will be up to North Lincolnshire Council's planning committee. Their position may add weight, though, to the arguments in favour and against the £2.2bn data centre.