Council urges AI Growth Zone designation
The leader wants changed to take place
The leader of North Lincolnshire Council has urged Government backing to designate North Lincolnshire as an AI Growth Zone. It comes as updated national planning policy makes explicit reference to the creation of AI Growth Zones.
Such zones would create a more flexible and easier planning process for infrastructure linked to AI. They are also expected to boost private capital investment in a local area and accelerate clean power supply.
A Northern Lincolnshire AI Growth Zone (NLAIGZ) proposal has been developed by the council and Greystoke, a specialist planning business focused on high-tech infrastructure. It has gained local MPs support, had a partnership forum created for it, and it is contended would unlock more than £20bn private investment.
In a statement released by the local authority, council leader Cllr Rob Waltham (Conservative – Brigg and Wolds Ward) said: “The market is already telling us that North Lincolnshire has something significant to offer.” The area has already had three significant market-led investments emerge, with two getting provisional planning approval already.
The Labour Government has already designated five geographical areas as AI Growth Zones. It held an initial applications round last year. The most recent area to get designated an AI Growth Zone was Lanarkshire in Scotland.
Cllr Waltham continued: “Investors are prepared to put serious money into the area and Government should now back that confidence by designating North Lincolnshire as an AI Growth Zone, as it has elsewhere.” However, the council leader’s statement then placed some caution on the development of data centres in the area.
“But we should not dismiss the genuine questions residents have about developments on this scale.” Outline permission was granted in Summer 2024 for Humber Tech Park AI data centre near South Killingholme. In March the council’s planning committee approved unanimously granting outline permission for Elsham Tech Park data campus, planned near Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate.
Multiple objectors raised concerns with the schemes, covering impact on neighbours and environmental concerns. More than 380 letters of objection were made to the Elsham proposal alone.
“Data centres need huge amounts of energy,” Cllr Waltham continued. “People want to understand how much water they will use and how that will be managed.
“We should also be asking whether the enormous amount of heat they generate can be captured and put to productive use – potentially supporting agriculture, horticulture or other local industries. Developers need to engage with communities and provide credible answers.
“Being pro-investment does not mean ignoring legitimate concerns.” He added, however, that Britain increasing its domestic data centre capacity has become “an issue of national resilience as businesses and public services become increasingly reliant on AI and cloud computing”.
He emphasised the development of the AI economy in North Lincolnshire “has to be about much more than the data centres themselves. It is about the businesses that grow around them, the skills they create and giving young people access to the highly skilled, well-paid careers that will drive the next generation of the economy.”
“North Lincolnshire has the land, energy, industrial capability and private-sector appetite – and, of course, steel for the buildings.
“The investment is already coming. Government now needs to recognise that momentum, designate North Lincolnshire as an AI Growth Zone and help us turn it into something even bigger.”
The LDRS contacted the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade for an update on where NLAIGZ’s bid currently stood. A Government spokesperson said: “All AI Growth Zone proposals, including those that that have been informed they are a high potential opportunity, must meet published criteria.
“These include credible plans for energy delivery, environmental considerations, and local economic benefit. All bids are assessed on their individual merits.”
The Government’s updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) includes explicit reference to the creation of AI Growth Zones as a change towards stronger support for growth and infrastructure. The updated NPPF also has stronger in-principle support for development, including a presumption in favour of development in sustainable locations.
An NLAIGZ partnership forum meeting was held in late June. Forum members include not only the council but also Humber Energy Board and the training provider CATCH. Sam Matthew, chief operating officer of Greystoke, chaired it and stated following it: “NLAIGZ is a nationally-significant project which will provide thousands of new jobs locally across the construction and operational phases.”