Temperatures rise 9°C around Slough data centre

The Government must “slam the brakes” on new data centres or put communities at risk of water shortages, the Green Party leader has said.

Zack Polanski has demanded planning rules be tightened to prevent data centres being given priority while people come a “poor second”.

Data centres have been treated as critical infrastructure since 2024, putting them on equal footing to water, energy and emergency services systems, making gaining planning permission easier.

The Government said the move was necessary because they are “critical to nearly all economic activity and public services”.

Now the Greens are calling for that to be reversed, arguing data centres consume significant amounts of water at a time when large parts of the UK have been in drought.

Deputy Leader of the Green Party Rachel Millward joins Tom Swarbrick to discuss the Slough data centre, where she claims surrounding temperatures have risen 9 degrees. She warns that if we are not careful, we could reverse the progress we’ve made on climate change and start heading towards “water bankruptcy”.

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#ClimateChange #climatecrisis #LBC #TomSwarbrick #greenparty #ZackPolanski #Datacentres #UKpolitics #watercrisis

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