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

All schemes

Approved - but it's not overYorkshire and the Humber, England

Elsham Tech Park

Councillors resolved to approve outline permission on 11 March 2026 (all matters reserved), subject to resolving National Highways' holding objection and signing a s106 agreement. No decision notice, s106 completion or National Highways withdrawal has been found in sources reached, so the status stays resolution_to_grant. [S1] [S2] [S3] [S5]

Key facts

Status
Approved - but it's not over (resolution to grant) [S1] [S2] [S3] [S5]
Decided by
North Lincolnshire Council [S1]
Applicant
Elsham Tech Park Ltd [S1] [S2] [S6]
Developer or backer
Greystoke Land (reported as developer; Grimsby Live names Greystoke Land Ltd via FoundDigital); shares directors with Humber Tech Park Ltd (DCD)
References
PA/2025/643; PA/SCR/2025/5
Location
About 176 ha (435 acres) of mainly agricultural land at the former RAF Elsham Wolds airfield, near Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate, north of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. [S1] [S4]
IT capacity
1000MW [S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]
Site area
176 ha [S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]
Buildings
15 data halls (Computer Weekly, DCD) [S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]
Investment (claimed)
'GBP10bn+ ... as fully built out' (developer website); GBP5.5bn to GBP7bn (DCD); GBP7.5bn (earlier press) [S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]
On-site generation
Natural gas engines of about 50MW (just under 50MW, 49.9MW) per committee report; DCD said source not specified. [S1] [S2]
Backup generators
Committee report as summarised states up to 650 backup diesel generators of 2,480kW each. This figure must be checked in the report itself before use. [S1] [S2]
Cooling and water
Closed-loop cooling; daily water use said to be under 20 cubic metres per building (committee report as summarised). [S1] [S2]
Designations
No on-site designations; nearest is Wrawby Moor SSSI (1.95km); Humber Estuary SPA/Ramsar about 9km north [S1]
Previous use
Former RAF Elsham Wolds airfield (WWI and WWII) with agricultural land [S1]
Environmental assessment
EIA screening opinion PA/SCR/2025/5: EIA not required. [S1]
Public objections
364 [S1] [S2] [S3] [S6]

Timeline

  1. 13 May 2025
    EIA screening opinion PA/SCR/2025/5 concludes no EIA needed (date per skill brief; screening reference confirmed in committee report, date not re-confirmed). [S1]
  2. 16 June 2025
    National Highways holding objection. [S1]
  3. 19 June 2025
    Anglian Water objects on foul drainage capacity. [S1]
  4. 23 December 2025
    National Highways holding objection renewed (modelling issues). [S1]
  5. 31 December 2025
    Anglian Water withdraws its objection. [S1]
  6. 11 March 2026
    Planning committee resolves to approve outline PA/2025/643, minded to approve subject to National Highways' holding objection being resolved and s106 signed. Foxglove reports a unanimous vote. [S1] [S3]
  7. 12 March 2026
    Press reports (DCD, Data Centre Review, Computer Weekly, New Civil Engineer) describe permission 'granted' - publication date, not the decision date. [S2] [S5] [S9]
  8. 20 May 2026
    Foxglove says submitted carbon figures understate emissions by a factor of five; Greystoke indicates revised figures will be submitted. [S6]

Statutory consultees

BodyPositionDateDetail
Anglian Waterobjection withdrawn31 December 2025Objected 2025-06-19 on foul drainage capacity; withdrawn after the applicant's water-use evidence [S1]
National Highwaysholding objection23 December 2025Holding objection 2025-06-16 and again 2025-12-23 (modelling issues); unresolved at committee [S1]
Environment Agencyno objection17 June 2025Conditions required [S1]
Natural Englandno objection21 October 2025Further information requested 2025-06-17, then no objection [S1]

Politicians and organisations

  • Council leader Rob Waltham supports (quoted by DCD)
  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (joint statement to committee)

Claims

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

  • Elsham Tech Park (developer website) (developer): Up to 900 full-time operational jobs, salaries over GBP50,000; GBP10bn+ investment; first phase opens 2029 [S8]
  • Elsham Tech Park Ltd / council leader as reported by DCD (developer): 900-1,200 long-term jobs; GBP25m AI and data education fund; greenhouse producing 4,728 tonnes of tomatoes using waste heat [S2]
  • Foxglove (Tim Squirrell) and Global Action Plan; the 1,004,478 figure comes from the applicant's documents (campaigners): Scope 2 emissions of about 1,004,478 tCO2e a year by 2033-34; council report compared one year's emissions with five years of UK budget (0.1043% claimed versus 0.5215% on a like-for-like basis) [S3] [S6]
  • Foxglove, as reported by Computer Weekly (campaigners): Council ignored own policy requiring 20% on-site renewable energy [S5]

Sources

  1. [S1] Planning committee 11 March 2026, application PA/2025/643 (report). North Lincolnshire Council, 11 March 2026. Level 1 source.
  2. [S2] 1GW data center planned for North Lincolnshire, UK, given planning permission. DatacenterDynamics, 12 March 2026. Level 5 source.
  3. [S3] Press release: English council approves data centre with ONE MILLION TONNES of annual climate pollution. Foxglove, 11 March 2026. Level 6 source.
  4. [S4] Foxglove press release: vote due on plan for data centre with one million tonnes of emissions. Foxglove, 10 March 2026. Level 6 source.
  5. [S5] Enormous AI growth zone datacentre gets planning approval. Computer Weekly, 12 March 2026. Level 5 source.
  6. [S6] 'Dodgy data' called out in Elsham Tech Park plan. Grimsby Live, 20 May 2026. Level 4 source.
  7. [S7] Councillors decide on major AI data centre campus near Elsham. Grimsby Live, 11 March 2026. Level 4 source.
  8. [S8] Elsham Tech Park (developer website). Elsham Tech Park. Level 3 source.
  9. [S9] UK's largest AI data centre receives approval, paving way for GBP10bn investment (page blocked, headline only). New Civil Engineer, 12 March 2026. Level 5 source.