TL;DR

North Lincolnshire Council has approved plans for Elsham Tech Park, an AI data centre campus that could attract up to £10 billion in investment. The site would house up to 15 data centre buildings with 1GW of computing capacity, making it one of the largest AI campuses proposed in the UK.

Scale of the Project

The campus, to be built next to Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate, will cover up to 435 acres of agricultural land. Plans include an on-site energy centre producing up to 49.9MW of electricity, alongside a greenhouse complex that would use waste heat from data centre cooling to grow agricultural produce — an increasingly common sustainability feature in modern data centre design.

The council projects 900 highly skilled permanent jobs once the site is operational, with thousands of additional construction roles over a decade-long buildout.

Council leader Rob Waltham described it as “a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity,” adding that “the numbers attached to this project are eye-watering.”

Part of a Wider UK Buildout

The approval comes as the UK races to expand its AI compute capacity. The government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January 2025, identified data centre infrastructure as a national priority. Several major projects are already under way, including developments in Buckinghamshire, Northumberland and Scotland.

North Lincolnshire is positioning itself alongside these locations, drawing on good grid connections and available land. The project also illustrates the tension between agricultural land use and industrial development — 435 acres of farmland will be repurposed.

Looking Forward

Construction timelines and the identity of the lead developer have not been confirmed. The £10 billion figure represents potential total investment over the life of the project, meaning actual spending will depend on market conditions and tenant commitments. For nearby communities, the promise of jobs and economic activity will need to be weighed against local infrastructure and environmental pressures.