TL;DR

Equinix plans to build one of Europe’s largest data centres on 85 acres of farmland near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, in a deal worth more than $5 billion. Local residents are fighting the development, but the UK government’s reclassification of greenbelt land and designation of data centres as “critical national infrastructure” has cleared the way.

Farmland reclassified as “grey belt”

The conflict began in September 2024, when a developer applied for permission to build an industrial-scale data centre on rolling farmland between Potters Bar and South Mimms. More than 1,000 residents joined a Facebook group to oppose the project, and objections filed during the public consultation outweighed signatures of support by nearly two-to-one.

The council granted planning permission anyway. Its decision rested on two policy changes introduced after the current government took power in 2024: the creation of a new “grey belt” classification for underperforming greenbelt land, and the designation of data centres as critical national infrastructure. Officers concluded that economic and infrastructure benefits outweighed the loss of green space.

Equinix, which operates 14 existing UK data centres but has never built on a rural site in the country, acquired the land in October 2025. The company estimates the development will create 2,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent roles, generating roughly $27 million in annual property tax.

Residents challenge the process

The protest group has lodged multiple objections, appealed to a third-party ombudsman and the UK’s Office of Environmental Protection, and filed a standards complaint against the council leader. All have so far been dismissed.

Residents point to what they see as inconsistency: the same council recently blocked a housing development on a neighbouring field to preserve greenbelt and agricultural land. “Turn around, cross the road, come to this field — and it’s grey belt,” said resident Eamonn Lynch.

Looking forward

The case illustrates the friction emerging across the UK as the government’s AI infrastructure ambitions run into local planning resistance. With global AI labs planning trillions in aggregate infrastructure spending, Potters Bar is unlikely to be the last community facing this trade-off between national economic strategy and local green space.