Campaigners reveal what they told planners to stop data centre in its tracks
Campaigners behind a last-minute interjection that stopped in its tracks a planning application to build a massive data centre near Corsham have revealed what they told Wiltshire Council.
Campaigners behind a last-minute interjection that stopped in its tracks a planning application to build a massive data centre near Corsham have revealed what they told Wiltshire Council.
When Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee met on Tuesday, December 16 they had expected to determine whether the £300 million, five-storey facility could be built at Ark Data Centres’ Spring Park Campus.
But with just 24 hours’ notice, the applicants were advised that deliberation would be postponed until the new year – after a 17-page rebuttal of the 55-page planning officers’ report was submitted by Neston & Westwells Action Group – an affiliation of locals opposed to the plan.
The officer’s report was not made public until a week before the meeting – leaving NWAG little time, they said, to formulate their response.
Council lawyers said that without considering the action group’s response, there was a risk of any decision being taken to court.
But the company was furious, with chief revenue officer Rob Silvester lambasting the council for the delay.
Now, campaigners have explained the content of their 17-page rebuttal.
“We welcome Wiltshire Council officers’ decision to recommend deferral of the Donkey Field data centre application, in order to properly consider new legal and technical evidence,” they said in a statement.
“The Neston–Westwells Action Group represents residents of all ages from across the local community.
“While many of us are retired, this has simply allowed the time and focus needed to engage fully with a complex planning proposal.
“Over many months we have worked constructively within the planning system, scrutinising flood risk, drainage, noise, landscape impact and—crucially—compliance with the statutory development plan.
“Our concern has never been opposition to data centres in principle. There are already six data centres along Westwells Road.
“What we object to is this particular proposal extending large-scale industrial development into the Donkey Field, a sensitive site that forms a clear buffer between existing industrial estates and established residential communities.
“It is also important to correct a point made at the meeting: the Donkey Field has never been owned by the Ministry of Defence and is not ex-MoD land.
“As such, it is not subject to Wiltshire Core Policy CP37, which applies specifically to the redevelopment of former MoD sites.
“Treating the land as ex-MoD materially misrepresents its planning status and risks drawing incorrect conclusions about policy support for development.
“In our view, the application fails to comply with key elements of the Wiltshire Core Strategy, the Corsham Neighbourhood Plan, the emerging Local Plan, and national planning policy, and relies too heavily on unresolved matters being deferred to post-approval conditions.
“We therefore welcome the Council’s recognition that the additional material raised serious legal and procedural issues that must be assessed before any lawful decision can be made.
“This deferral is not about delay for its own sake; it is about ensuring that decisions are plan-led, evidence-based and legally robust.”
The group said the deferral “highlights the importance of local knowledge and sustained community engagement in supporting hard-pressed planning authorities.”
“Public confidence in the planning system depends on consistency, transparency and adherence to adopted planning policy,” they said.
Ark says the data centre will help meet soaring demand for data storage, related in a large part to the public’s adoption of AI, cloud storage, and streaming services.
Its clients include businesses including telecoms firms, banks, and video streaming services, and the government.
Ark Data Centres has declined to comment further on the matter. A decision on the application is expected in January or February.