North Devon residents oppose proposed 1.5GW AI data campus as planning decision awaits

Residents in north Devon are organising against a proposed large AI data campus and battery facility near Great Torrington, as the project awaits formal planning applications. The dispute matters because the scheme would occupy countryside within a Unesco-designated biosphere reserve, while its effects on the area have yet to be tested through the planning process.

Xlinks proposes separate developments between Great Torrington, Huntshaw and Weare Giffard: a data centre with up to 1.5 gigawatts of capacity and an on-site battery energy storage facility rated at 1.8 gigawatts. Those figures describe the company's plans, not operating facilities. Data Center Dynamics reported the project announcement in June.

What residents and Xlinks say

The Guardian reported on 27 September that campaigners object to the proposed location and have raised concerns about water use, changes to the landscape and battery safety. These are concerns about potential effects, not findings that those effects have occurred. Protesters gathered outside a Torridge District Council meeting this week, according to the newspaper.

Xlinks says the campus would involve £12.2 billion to £13.8 billion in capital investment and support 600 to 1,200 permanent operational jobs. These are company forecasts. Xlinks told the Guardian it plans to recirculate water and is carrying out environmental surveys; it said any required mitigation would be built into the design and secured through planning conditions.

Planning status

Torridge District Council says it has received no formal planning applications for the proposals. According to its published statement, Xlinks sought pre-planning advice for the data campus in April 2025 and for the battery facility in October 2025. Such discussions do not amount to planning approval.

The council says a public consultation planned for July 2026 was postponed until later in the year, with new dates still unpublished when it issued its statement. It told the Guardian that applications, once received, would be validated and published on its planning portal. The timing of a formal decision therefore remains unknown.