Janine GriffithsA group of 100 Leeds residents has formed an action group to oppose Microsoft’s construction of three Hyperscale AI Datacentre buildings in Skelton.
The 65-acre site sits next to TCV’s Skelton Grange Environment Centre. It is just one mile from the Climate Innovation District, the largest sustainable development in the UK.
Plans to redevelop the Skelton Grange site were unanimously approved by Leeds City Council in April 2026. At that time, the planning portal registered only two objections.
The portal was left open pending final sign off by Chief Planning Officer Martin Elliot. Since the No Leeds Datacentres campaign began raising awareness, over 500 objections have been submitted. Over 2,000 people signed a petition within three days.
Lianne Marie Mease, lead representative of the No Leeds Datacentres campaign says: “A development which proposes such significant impacts to Leeds and the surrounding areas should have a proportional approach to community consultation. Putting up developer signs outside a power station which has been decommissioned since 1994 simply isn’t good enough.”
Residents are concerned about insufficient scrutiny of the project’s impacts on water and power consumption. They also fear noise, light, and air pollution, foul water disposal, and climate change.
Over 100 datacentre developments are currently seeking planning permission across the UK. The project in Skelton will be one of the largest.
Campaigners are urging local councillors and MPs to support a moratorium on new constructions.
Global Action Plan is also urging the government to pause construction.
Owen Espley, Campaign Manager at Global Action Plan says: “The UK Government is letting Big Tech build more and more of its resource-hungry data centres up and down the country, contradicting community wishes and putting local people at risk of power cuts and droughts.”
He added: “Communities are fighting to have their concerns about AI data centres heard but are being drowned out by Big Tech lobbyists who hold the ear of government. The government must act urgently to put the brakes on AI data centre expansion by joining a growing number of global cities in declaring a moratorium on new AI data centres until ministers can produce a credible plan for how many we need, where and what for, and how environmental and social harm will be addressed.”
Relevant Links
- Planning Application: https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/
- Campaign Website: noleedsdatacentre.wordpress.com
- Local Petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/prevent-construction-of-microsoft-hyperscale-datacentres-in-leeds
- Global Action Plan Petition: https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/big-tech/climate-vs-big-tech/data-centres/stop-dirty-data-centres
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