Residents at a retirement home are up in arms about the latest proposed extension to the Ark Data Centres campus near Corsham, UK.
Ark wants to construct an 18-meter-high data center on fields adjacent to its Spring Park campus near Corsham. According to the planning application, the land, on Westwells Road, was previously developed and used by the Ministry of Defence.
But the application has drawn the ire of residents at the Wadswick Green residential home in the nearby village of Neston.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Victor Steadman said that more than 100 residents of Wadswick Green had registered complaints about the development with Wiltshire Council. The application has attracted over 300 comments, many of which are in opposition to the project.
According to Steadman, residents have to endure a “droning sound at night coming from the generators.” The new application would add 22 generators to the campus. These will be HVO machines, using treated vegetable oil rather than diesel.
He said: “Older people have problems enough sleeping anyway, put bright light and this low-frequency noise problem there, and their sleep patterns are going to be disturbed.”
Steadman said the glow from the existing site is like “looking on an airport terminal,” and added: “People have moved here in expectation of a quiet retirement.”
In their comments, other objectors raised concerns about the impact on local wildlife, increased traffic, and the potential of flooding risks.
In its application, Ark Data Centres said: “The proposed development will be implemented in line with Ark’s sustainability requirements.
“The scheme will be integrated within the surrounding context through the provisioning of contextually appropriate design and land use.
“The proposed development will also minimize the impact on the local road networks and the wider environment.”
As well as the data halls and generators, the development will also feature an electrical substation and a water treatment plant which could allow rainwater to be collected and used in the data center.
In May, the company was given permission to extend the Spring Campus with a new building that will offer 22,120 sqm (238,097 sq ft) of data center space.
