Fears 'data centre' near M25 would damage green belt

The proposed site of the development was close to this road near the village of Iver, in Buckinghamshire

A council has refused plans for a data centre near the M25 because of concerns it would damage the green belt.

Developers wanted to build a 775,000 sq feet (72,000 sq m) centre on a former landfill site near the village of Iver, in Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire Council planning officers said it would harm the green belt - an area free of development to prevent urban sprawl - in "both spatial and visual terms".

But the applicants said the centre - which would house computer servers - would create jobs and boost biodiversity.

Letters of objection

The plan, on land between a river and the M25, was submitted by Greystoke Land and the UK arm of the construction giant Altrad.

It included offices, back-up generators, fuel storage, cycle and car parking and other infrastructure.

A design statement said it would be "landscape-led" and buildings would have "living green walls".

Plans for a bigger centre on the same site had been turned down in 2023.

Sixty three letters objecting to the latest proposal were sent to to the council.