Data centre given green-light by council

Northumberland County Council have given the go-ahead to plans for the data centres to be built in Cambois

A huge artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing data centre is to be built on the site of an abandoned battery factory site, after a council gave the go-ahead to plans for the massive £10bn development.

Northumberland County Council has approved outline planning permission for investment giant Blackstone to build the data centre at the former Britishvolt gigafactory site in Cambois, near Blyth.

The site will consist of 10 buildings constructed over more than 133 acres (540,000 sq m), and should create hundreds of jobs.

It is hoped the computing power generated by the data centre will provide the foundation for a new tech hub in the area.

Members of the council's strategic planning committee voted unanimously to approve the plans on Tuesday.

Further details will need to be confirmed in a series of future planning applications before construction can begin.

Blackstone has said the development of the data centres would create more than 1,600 jobs, including 1,200 long-term construction roles.

In addition, it was estimated that 2,700 jobs would be created across the wider local area as a result of the development.

As part of Blackstone's earlier deal to buy the land, the company paid Northumberland County Council £110m for the site.

It was also agreed that a buy-back clause requiring the land to only be used to build another gigafactory would be altered.

The council has said the money will be ring-fenced to create a further 5,000 jobs in the county.

QTS, Blackstone's data subsidiary, said it expected construction to begin next year.

The site had previously been home to Britishvolt, which had intended to build a £3.8bn battery factory for the electric car industry.

However, the company collapsed in 2023 leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs.