TL;DR

A formal planning application for an AI data centre campus on the former Unilever Crosfields works in Warrington has been lodged with Warrington Borough Council, the Warrington Guardian reported on 23 October. The applicant, Platform DC, says the scheme would create 20 to 30 permanent jobs plus as many as 120 roles in building and manufacturing while it is delivered. The soap factory beside Warrington Bank Quay station shut in October 2020.

The proposal

Platform DC describes a campus for AI and high-performance computing, cloud services and business data processing. It says the project would be privately funded, with the company meeting the cost of regenerating the land rather than taxpayers. Some fabrication of bespoke units would happen locally, at Appleton Thorn.

Chief executive Neil Rustage called the application “an important first step” and said the site’s industrial history gave it “a new role” in the digital economy. The firm says it will work with local colleges on apprenticeships and placements, offer local small firms favourable payment terms on supply contracts, and set up a social value fund for neighbourhoods around the site, covering things like playgrounds, libraries and sports facilities.

On the engineering side, the draft proposals set out closed-loop cooling with recirculated coolant, and power from the grid combined with fuel cells, using supplies already serving the old factory. The planning assessment will cover energy, water demand and cooling, along with noise, lighting, air quality and traffic during the build.

Why it matters

The filing was reported a day after we covered AI firms telling ministers the UK has 12 months to win datacentre consent. In our view, Platform DC’s package of local hiring promises, supply-chain terms and a community fund is exactly the sort of offer that debate is about, made here by one developer rather than through national policy.

Looking forward

The council will now consider the application, including its environmental assessments. In our view, a brownfield site that reuses the old factory’s power supplies may ease the planning case, but water demand and the fuel-cell element are the details residents are likely to scrutinise. The permanent headcount is also modest beside the construction roles, which matters when councils weigh local benefit.