A wildlife conservation trust, environmental advocates and a motorcycle club have joined forces against Google’s proposed data center in Thurrock, east of London. Their concerns range from harm to rare wildlife and emissions to the loss of a disused racing site. Google says its proposal includes steps to protect biodiversity and reduce emissions.
An unusual coalition takes its case to Google
Jamie Robins of conservation trust Buglife brought a petition to Google’s UK headquarters in Kings Cross, London. Signed by almost 55,000 people, it calls on the company to abandon its plans for a large data center in Thurrock, 15 miles to the east of London.
Buglife and local wildlife groups say the development threatens an endangered plant, a rare bumblebee and other invertebrates. Nonprofit Foxglove objects to the pollution it says the facility would produce. The Thurrock Hammers motorcycle club has a different concern: it wants to return to racing on the site, where Arena Essex once stood.
Representatives from the groups gathered outside Google’s office with placards urging the company to “search elsewhere.” Their alliance brings together causes that do not usually share the same campaign, but each sees a reason to oppose the project.
Local objections meet a broader data center push
Google’s proposal is part of a wider wave of industrial-scale data center plans in the UK. Companies are seeking more computing capacity for artificial intelligence models and other digital services. The UK government wants to attract investment in the AI industry and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign partners for computing.
That push is meeting resistance from people who live near proposed facilities. Robins says local campaign groups opposing data centers are appearing frequently, with people concerned about projects arriving close to their homes, local opinion being overlooked and wildlife being affected.
Thurrock’s site includes the remains of the motorcycle racing stadium, grassland with old footpaths and a lake. Google acquired it through a subsidiary in 2023 and applied for permission to build a data center campus in May last year.
After the plans became known locally, residents worked with national wildlife and environmental organizations. Of the 1,000 public responses submitted to the planning authority, only one supported the project. Thurrock Council noted that many responses came from outside the local area.
Two sides describe the environmental trade-offs
Opponents say the proposal does not adequately account for its effects. Alongside the possible loss of habitat and the racing facility, they point to emissions of up to 570,000 tonnes each year. Foxglove says those emissions cannot fit within the UK government’s carbon budget.
Google disputes the protesters’ characterization of its plans. The company says it will retain habitat and move endangered plants elsewhere, which it says will result in a net gain in biodiversity. It also says it will support new renewable energy generation to offset emissions, as part of its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030.
Google argues that removing the motorcycle stadium would not eliminate an important community facility because the track has been unused for a number of years. Adam Elman, Google’s director of sustainability EMEA, says the company shares concerns about the site’s ecology and wants to develop it sustainably while minimizing its impact.
Mark Sexton, director at the Thurrock Hammers, says the club’s distinct objection helps make the coalition more useful to the campaign. The groups do not need to share the same priorities to challenge the same development.
The planning process remains ahead
The protesters say Google’s assurances have not persuaded them to drop their opposition. Rob Pownall, founder of nonprofit Protect The Wild, described the effort as a small contribution to a much larger fight.
There have been some signs of broader anti-data center campaigns securing concessions. In the US, some states have put permitting freezes and data center moratoria in place. In the UK, Foxglove recently won a legal challenge that led the government to withdraw planning permission for a data center to the west of London.
Thurrock Council expects to rule on Google’s initial application early next year. If the project proceeds, Google will need to submit a more detailed development plan for another lengthy review. Robins says such planning campaigns can continue for years, and the coalition intends to keep challenging the project at each stage.