Amazon submits plans for Iver data centre
The building would be the height of five double-decker buses
Plans by Amazon to build a major new data centre in Iver, which would be the height of five double-decker buses, have been submitted.
The proposal seeks to demolish all existing buildings at the Ridgeway Distribution Centre to make way for the development.
In 2022, it was revealed that Amazon Data Services UK purchased the site from Abrdn for ÂŁ132.5 million in an off-market deal.
Now, the cloud-computing giant wants to transform the former distribution centre into a cutting-edge facility that will form part of Amazon’s £8 billion investment programme to build, operate and maintain data centres across the UK from 2024 to 2028.
The proposed data centre would cover 30,523 square metres and include an attenuation pond, a generator yard containing 27 backup generators, four water tanks and one sprinkler water tank.
Perimeter security fencing, a main entrance sally port, secondary vehicle access, internal roads and other ancillary infrastructure.
In its planning application to Buckinghamshire Council, the company outlined a series of economic and environmental benefits it said the development would bring.
It stated that construction would support around 350 direct jobs, generating an estimated ÂŁ47.8 million in annual economic output during the building phase.
Once operational, the site is projected to contribute ÂŁ1.8 million a year in business rates, around 44 per cent of which would go to Buckinghamshire Council to support local public services.
According to the application, the new facility would also cut existing heavy goods vehicle (HGV) traffic by 95 per cent and light goods vehicle (LGV) traffic by 50 per cent, compared with current site operations.
Iver, a few miles outside of Slough, lies close to one of the UK’s largest data-centre clusters, which already hosts numerous large-scale digital infrastructure projects.
The Ridgeway Trading Estate currently contains 17 units, providing about 34,000 sq m of industrial, storage and distribution space.
The units are leased to various tenants offering HGV repair, office supply and logistics services.
The proposed development includes a two-storey data centre featuring meeting rooms, offices, and a number of ancillary buildings on the same site.
Each floor would stand at approximately 8.5 metres high, giving the building a total height of around 20 metres to the parapet and up to 25 metres at its tallest point, roughly the height of five double-deckers stacked on top of each other.
Although unusually tall for a two-storey structure, the height reflects the specialist requirements of a data centre, including space for extensive cooling, ventilation, and power infrastructure.
That block would house offices, meeting rooms and staff welfare facilities, while the taller data halls would sit behind.
The building’s exterior would feature metal cladding panels, with colours that “shift” through blue tones designed to blend subtly with the surrounding landscape.