Research

Our rule on status

No status above proposed without a link that opens the live planning application (not a search form).

Site checklist

Not yet on the map

• Conesby / Scunthorpe campus ideas on the Humber side: only once a live planning page and stated size exist.
• Older smaller Tees Valley consents (for example a reported ~48 MW former chemicals-plant campus) if still live and distinct from Wilton / Teesworks / Latos.
• Further large campus proposals as they appear with a live planning page and a stated size.
• Existing smaller rented server halls and city hosting rooms (often no public megawatt figure). Those need a separate inventory; they should not be mixed with the large campus dossiers without clear labelling.

Outstanding before we treat figures as fully checked

1. Save an archived copy of every source link when we add it.
2. Find lasting council planning pages for Skelton, Deep Green, Drax, Eggborough, and Latos Preston Farm, then update statuses where that allows.
3. Cite exact pages inside planning PDFs, not only committee-report summaries.
4. Check map pins against the official site-boundary drawings in each application.
5. Confirm Humber acreage and megawatts against PA/2024/584 documents, not press alone.
6. Ferrybridge: confirm the Zone A boundary, who the data-centre operator is, and whether a separate application states megawatts (the linked consent is the wider Mountpark hybrid).
7. Teesside: page-level megawatt citations for Wilton Phase 1; find a stated MW figure for Teesworks if one exists in the application pack; find a lasting Stockton Public Access URL for Latos Preston Farm.

Local consumption

Local-authority electricity totals loaded from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero subnational statistics (2024 rows) on 2026-07-15. Download: local consumption figures.

Sample information-request letters

These are templates you can copy. Prefer the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 for environmental holdings (water, emissions, planning environment material). Prefer the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for other council records. Send one public authority at a time via their published channel.

Leeds City Council · Skelton Grange

Goal: a lasting link to the live planning case page for application 25/06139/FU, plus any power, water, or cooling figures on file.

[Your name]
[Date]

Information Governance
Leeds City Council
[published FOI / EIR email or portal]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental Information Regulations 2004

I request information about planning application 25/06139/FU (Microsoft / Skelton Grange data centre, Stourton).

Please provide:

1. The lasting public web address (or the council’s internal case ID) that opens this application’s live page on the Public Access planning system, not only the generic search form.

2. The decision notice, committee report, and any officer report recommending grant or resolution-to-grant, with document titles and dates.

3. Any Environmental Statement chapters, energy statements, or utilities/infrastructure notes that state megawatt capacity, grid connection size, water demand, or cooling method for this development (or confirmation that no such figures appear in the application documents held).

4. If any item is already published, please give the direct document URL on Public Access rather than attaching duplicates.

I am happy to receive the response electronically. If the cost limit applies, please advise how to refine the request. This is for a public-interest project assembling sourced environmental figures for regional data centre proposals (The Yorkshire Compute Belt).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Email]

Yorkshire Water · water capacity and zero-water claims

Target: offtake, discharge, and whether “zero water” claims have been recorded or challenged.

[Your name]
[Date]

Information Governance / EIR
Yorkshire Water
[published EIR address]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Environmental Information Regulations 2004: request for information

I am requesting environmental information about water supply and wastewater impacts of proposed and consented data centre developments in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Please treat this as a request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

For the period 1 January 2020 to the date of your response, please provide:

1. Any assessments, capacity studies, network constraint notes, or correspondence assessing the impact on public water supply or sewerage/wastewater capacity of data centre or “tech park” developments at or near:
   a) Skelton Grange / Stourton, Leeds (also referred to as Microsoft Skelton Grange);
   b) Eggborough, North Yorkshire (Microsoft);
   c) Drax Power Station site, Selby / North Yorkshire (data centre proposals);
   d) Elsham Tech Park, North Lincolnshire (planning ref PA/2025/643);
   e) Humber Tech Park, North Lincolnshire (planning ref PA/2024/584);
   f) Land east of Bradford Energy Centre / Listerhills, Bradford (Deep Green / heat-reuse data centre).

2. For each of the above where held: stated or estimated annual or peak water demand (megalitres or litres), whether supply is potable / non-potable / private, and any discharge consent volumes or temperatures relevant to cooling or process water.

3. Any documents in which an operator or applicant claimed “zero water use”, “eliminates water usage”, or closed-loop / no potable offtake for a data centre in your area, and Yorkshire Water’s recorded view on that claim (agreement, caveat, or rejection).

4. If information is held but some sites have none, please say so site by site rather than refusing the whole request.

I am happy to receive information electronically. If any part exceeds the cost limit or engages an exception, please advise what can be disclosed within the limit and how I might refine the request.

This information is sought for a public-interest project assembling sourced environmental figures for data centre proposals in the region (The Yorkshire Compute Belt). I do not seek personal data of individuals.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Email]