Private prototype. Facts from research on 2 to 3 October 2026; not yet reviewed for publication. Forms do not submit.

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RefusedWales, Wales

Amlwch Port (former Octel works) AI data centre

Anglesey County Council refused Carbon3.ai's (now Era4) full change-of-use application to convert the former Octel works into an AI data centre in April 2026 (decision notice dated 20 April per Daily Post), saying not enough information was given to show it would not harm landscape, designated sites, ecology, Welsh Water apparatus and neighbours' amenity. No appeal, resubmission or legal challenge found as at 3 October 2026, though the Welsh Government appeals search and the council register could not be searched. [S1] [S2] [S9] [S11]

Key facts

Status
Refused (refused) [S1] [S2] [S9] [S11]
Decided by
Isle of Anglesey County Council (refused); any appeal would go to Welsh Ministers (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales) [S1] [S2]
Applicant
Carbon3.ai (Carbon 3.AI Ltd), reported as rebranded Era4 in 2026 [S2] [S3] [S4] [S7] [S8] [S10]
Developer or backer
Agent: Richard Kevan, Egniol Consulting Ltd (Daily Post, January 2026). Site bought freehold by Carbon3.ai in November 2025 per Amlwch History (previous owner Anglesey LNG bought it in 2006 per Place North West).
Location
Former Octel bromine works at Amlwch Port, Anglesey: a vacant brownfield industrial site of about 61 acres (about 24.7 ha) abandoned since 2004, inside the Anglesey Freeport area. The proposal is a change of use of existing buildings. [S1] [S2] [S3]
Site area
24.7 ha [S2] [S3] [S4]
Buildings
Single data hall shown in the site plan, reusing existing buildings in the industrial complex (DCD); modular data halls and technical plant (Amlwch History) [S2] [S3] [S4]
Cooling and water
Refusal reasons cite Welsh Water apparatus, but no cooling or water figures were found [S2]
Designations
Refusal reasons cite 'special designated sites' (not named in the sources read) [S10] [S2] [S3] [S4] [S5]
Previous use
Octel bromine works (extracted bromine from seawater for petrol additives; operated for over 50 years, closed 2004); site reported sold to Carbon3.ai freehold in November 2025. Place North West (January 2024) said most structures had been demolished to foundation level and that an LNG plant had earlier been permitted on the site, which sits oddly with the applicant's plan to reuse existing buildings. [S10] [S2] [S3] [S4] [S5]

Timeline

  1. 1 November 2025
    Carbon3.ai reported to have bought the site freehold (month only, Amlwch History). [S3]
  2. 11 January 2026
    Nation.Cymru and DCD report the application to convert the former Octel plant into an AI data centre (DCD dated 12 January 2026). [S5] [S4]
  3. 1 April 2026
    Anglesey Planning and Orders Committee met; its agenda carried no Octel or data centre item, so the refusal appears not to have gone to that committee (delegated decision not confirmed). [S11]
  4. 20 April 2026
    Date of the decision notice refusing the application, per a Daily Post/Yahoo report. [S2]
  5. 23 April 2026
    Nation.Cymru reports the rejection by Anglesey County Council amid fears over harm to residents and the environment. [S1]
  6. 2 June 2026
    DCD reports the company has rebranded from Carbon3.ai to Era4 and lists Derbyshire and Newport projects; Amlwch is not among them in that article. [S8]

Politicians and organisations

  • No Amlwch-specific group found (not searchable); the only Anglesey petition found concerns Prosperity Parc

Claims

Claims by developers, campaigners or councils, recorded as claims and not checked as fact.

  • Carbon3.ai, as reported by DCD (developer): Carbon3.ai says it has 50MW of available capacity and a 4.5GW pipeline across sites; plans four hyperscale UK data centres and 30 rapid deployment sites. This is a company-wide claim, not a figure for Amlwch. [S4]
  • Carbon3.ai, as reported by DCD and Amlwch History (developer): A modern, energy-efficient AI centre providing secure, sustainable, high-capacity computing, powered by renewables and using Freeport incentives and the North Wales AI Growth Zone. [S3] [S4]
  • Nation.Cymru headline wording, January 2026 (other): The site is 'strategically significant'. [S5]
  • Government figure repeated in Daily Post (other): North Wales AI Growth Zone (designated November 2025) 'to unlock more than 3,400 new jobs and up to 100 billion pounds in investment' - zone-wide claim, not Amlwch-specific [S7]
  • Era4 (formerly Carbon3.ai), as reported by DCD (developer): Company aims to deploy 100,000 GPUs across more than 30 locations [S8]

Sources

  1. [S1] AI data centre plan rejected amid fears over 'harm' to residents and environment. Nation.Cymru (Local Democracy Reporting Service), 23 April 2026. Level 4 source.
  2. [S2] AI data centre plan at abandoned Anglesey chemical factory is rejected. Daily Post (via Yahoo News UK). Level 4 source.
  3. [S3] Carbon3.ai - Amlwch History. Amlwch History, 14 January 2026. Level 6 source.
  4. [S4] Former chemical plant in North Wales, UK, could become AI data center. DatacenterDynamics, 12 January 2026. Level 5 source.
  5. [S5] Plan for 'strategically significant' plant to become AI data centre. Nation.Cymru, 11 January 2026. Level 4 source.
  6. [S6] Stop the construction of an AI Datacenter in Anglesey (concerns Prosperity Parc, not this site). Change.org, 11 March 2026. Level 6 source.
  7. [S7] Abandoned Anglesey chemical factory could become AI data centre. Daily Post. Level 4 source.
  8. [S8] Era4 plans landfill gas-powered data center in Canterbury, UK. DatacenterDynamics, 2 June 2026. Level 5 source.
  9. [S9] Era4 Data Centers and Colocation (company page lists Amlwch as rejected). Baxtel. Level 7 source.
  10. [S10] Freeport site in Anglesey hits market. Place North West, 22 January 2024. Level 4 source.
  11. [S11] Planning and Orders Committee, 1 April 2026 - agenda items. Isle of Anglesey County Council, 1 April 2026. Level 1 source.
  12. [S12] Plans unveiled to redevelop former Anglesey chemical plant into AI data centre. Nation.Cymru, 14 January 2026. Level 4 source.