Havering Council maintains that a controversial data centre in the east of the borough would be greatly beneficial, despite continued pushback from residents.

If approved, the East Havering Data Centre would be the largest in Europe and would bolster the struggling borough’s future, the council says.

Data centres consist of large networked computer servers, used by companies for data storage, processing and distribution.

Straddling green belt land on the border of Havering and Essex, the North Ockendon facility near Upminster would cover almost 99 acres of land and feature a 279-acre, publicly accessible ‘ecology park’.

But despite the reported benefits – including increased energy security for the UK and 1,240 new local jobs – residents living nearby have raised serious feasibility concerns.

After weeks of correspondence, members of the North Ockendon Residents Association (NORA) and Havering Friends of the Earth met with officials from Havering Council, including leader Ray Morgon, last month.

Their questioning focused on developer Digital Reef pursuing a local development order (LDO), which does not require a formal planning application.

Havering’s strategic planning committee will eventually decide whether to approve the scheme, after a lengthy public consultation and scrutiny process by the local planning authority.

LDOs are often sought because they are more streamlined and can mean plans get passed quicker.

Ian Pirie from Havering Friends of the Earth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they felt they had been “stonewalled” by the council.

Council leader Ray MorgonCouncil leader Ray Morgon (Image: Havering Council)

The group has raised concerns the council is simply “waving through the plan,” but Cllr Morgon said Digital Reef would need to satisfy the planning authority’s “strict parameters for ‘very special circumstances’”.

He added: “This includes economic growth and data security, but [the planning authority] cannot consider the potential income to the council.”

He said there was “still much to do” and that Digital Reef has not yet finalised its proposals. The council has maintained that residents “will be listened to”.

A clear timeline for the process has not been provided, but a public consultation on the proposals could be carried out later this year.

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Attendees also pushed the council on how the facility – roughly the combined size of 214 football pitches – would affect the green belt, which is protected countryside.

A NORA spokesperson felt the application would “open the floodgates,” adding: “We now have a race to the bottom to turn Cranham, Upminster and North Ockendon from green belt and conservation area into an industrial power and battery storage wasteland.”

The group previously criticised what it called the “creeping industrialisation” of London and Essex’s countryside.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Cllr Morgon said that elected officials had to make “tough decisions for the whole borough” and he would not “shy away” from supporting a beneficial scheme.

He said: “These decisions are not easy but I am not shying away from declaring my support for a scheme that could be a catalyst to deliver local growth, new businesses, future job opportunities for Havering children, as well as food security, energy security and data sovereignty for our country.

“Each one of the election promises we made, including protecting the green belt, were made in good faith but you elect councillors to make tough decisions for the whole borough, and to balance difficult judgements, which sometimes includes conflicting priorities.”

If approved, the campus will be powered by the substation in Warley, which some have argued will constitute a reliance on fossil fuels.

The council previously told the LDRS it would meet ‘net zero’ targets and not produce any emissions – being powered entirely by renewable sources with no diesel used by any back-up supply.

A spokesperson said: “Councillors are aware of the strength of feeling of some residents in North Ockendon but they also have to consider the broader interests of the Havering community as a whole.”