Early stageNorth East, England

Blyth Data Centre, Factory Road, Cambois (TBC Partners)

TBC Partners has asked Northumberland County Council for an EIA screening opinion on a data centre of up to 300MW (developer figure) on about 12 ha at Factory Road, Cambois. The request was listed by the Gazette on 17 August 2026 and reported by DCD on 18 August 2026. No full planning application has been found and no screening decision has been found. ^{[F1] [F2] [F3] [F4]}

Key facts

Status: Early stage (screening or scoping) ^{[F1] [F2] [F3] [F4]}
Decided by: Northumberland County Council ^{[F1] [F2] [F3]}
Applicant: TBC Partners (a UK joint family office) ^{[F1] [F4] [F6]}
References: Council reference for the EIA screening opinion request not found. The Gazette lists it as 'Land At Factory Road Cambois Northumberland - Screening opinion for a proposed data centre development' (17 August 2026).; TJEC8RQS0MK00 (given by DCD as 'application reference'; this is a planning.org.uk document key of the same type as the Wansbeck record, NOT a council application number)
Location: Land at Factory Road, Cambois, south east Northumberland: about 12 ha (developer, via DCD and Baxtel) of former GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical site (operated 1971-2004, demolished 2009-2013), now used for aggregate, timber and machinery storage. Alongside the A189, immediately south of the River Wansbeck. Adjacent to the separate Wansbeck Regeneration (West Sleekburn) land and about a mile north of the QTS Cambois site (DCD). ^{[F1] [F2] [F3] [F4]}
IT capacity: 300MW ^{[F1] [F2] [F4]}
Site area: 12 ha ^{[F1] [F2] [F4]}
Buildings: One or two main data centre buildings covering 2.5 to 3.7 ha at about 30 m high, with an on-site substation (layout still being considered) ^{[F1] [F2] [F4]}
Cooling and water: Closed-loop air-cooled conditioning plant to reduce water consumption, with waste heat applications to be explored (developer's screening documents as reported by DCD) ^{[F1] [F6]}
Previous use: Former GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical manufacturing site; buildings demolished 2009-2013; now storage of recycled aggregate, timber and plant ^{[F1] [F2]}
Environmental assessment: EIA screening opinion requested from Northumberland County Council; decision not found ^{[F1] [F2]}

Timeline

2025-01
TBC Partners says it launched UK data centre development in January 2025, starting two 300MW projects (it names Didcot and Blyth) and securing 300MW demand connections at both sites (developer's own statement). ^[F6]
17 August 2026
Northumberland Gazette lists 'Land At Factory Road Cambois' screening opinion for a proposed data centre among 13 new planning applications, and reports the plans as a third data centre in south east Northumberland. ^{[F2] [F3]}
18 August 2026
DCD reports TBC Partners' screening opinion request for the 'Blyth Data Centre': up to 300MW, about 12 ha, one or two buildings, construction about 24 months, operations 2030-2035. ^[F1]
19 August 2026
Gazette reports local residents calling for a pause on the QTS, West Sleekburn and Factory Road schemes. ^[F7]
9 September 2026
MP Ian Lavery raises the three Cambois-area schemes at Prime Minister's Questions and asks for a pause; the PM declines a moratorium. ^[F8]

Politicians and organisations

Ian Lavery MP (Blyth and Ashington) asked the Prime Minister on 9 September 2026 to pause further development in Blyth and Ashington (names Factory Road among three schemes)
Northumberland County Council deputy leader Richard Wearmouth criticised speculative data centre developers generally (Gazette; not specific to TBC Partners)
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness: 'people over infrastructure' (24 September 2026; Factory Road not mentioned)
Newbiggin Environmental Network, Foxglove and Global Action Plan are named by LBC as campaign groups in the area (article undated in extract; not specific to Factory Road)

Claims

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

TBC Partners (screening documents, as reported by DCD and the Gazette; the Gazette says MW not specified in the application materials it saw) (developer): Up to 300MW; closed-loop air cooling; operations 2030-2035 ^{[F1] [F2]}
Local residents quoted by LBC and the Northumberland Gazette (campaigners): Cambois area is becoming a 'dumping ground for data centres'; call for a pause to let locals understand the impact (water, noise, jobs evidence) ^{[F7] [F9]}

Campaigns

Residents' weekly leafleting outside the QTS site and call for a pause on all three Cambois-area schemes
Protect the Wild open letter against rapid AI data centre expansion

Sources

[F1] Application filed for data center campus near QTS' site in Northumberland, UK. DatacenterDynamics, 18 August 2026. Level 5 source.
[F2] Plans emerge for third data centre in south east Northumberland. Northumberland Gazette, 17 August 2026. Level 4 source.
[F3] Potential new data centre among 13 new planning applications in Northumberland. Northumberland Gazette, 17 August 2026. Level 4 source.
[F4] Data Center Campus Proposed Near QTS Site in Northumberland, UK. Baxtel. Level 7 source.
[F5] Application filed for data center campus near QTS' site in Northumberland, UK (syndicated). bebeez, 18 August 2026. Level 7 source.
[F6] TBC Partners (company website). TBC Partners. Level 3 source.
[F7] Campaigners call for a pause on Cambois data centre plans amid environmental concerns. Northumberland Gazette, 19 August 2026. Level 4 source.
[F8] MP urges Prime Minister to block further data centre developments in Blyth and Ashington. Northumberland Gazette, 9 September 2026. Level 4 source.
[F9] 'Dumping ground for data centres': locals 'extremely worried'. LBC. Level 4 source.
[F10] Mayor vows to put residents ahead of 'big tech' amid concerns about data centre overdevelopment. Northumberland Gazette, 24 September 2026. Level 4 source.
[F11] Data centre developers warned they can 'clear right off' amid lack of engagement over plans in Northumberland. Northumberland Gazette. Level 4 source.

Take action on this scheme

Record

Confidence: medium
Last checked: 3 October 2026
Status as of: 3 October 2026

Spotted a mistake? hello@datacentrewatch.uk

Not yet confirmed

Northumberland County Council's screening reference number and whether a screening decision has been issued (portal disallowed to automated reading)
Whether a full planning application has been submitted
Whether the 300MW is IT load or total demand
Who is the end user or operator
Whether the TBC Partners 'Blyth' project is the Factory Road site in every respect (TBC site names Didcot and Blyth; DCD names this scheme Blyth Data Centre)
Name and organiser of the residents' campaign; any petition specific to Factory Road
Exact distance from and relationship to the Wansbeck Regeneration site (DCD says adjacent land, same former GSK complex)

Where sources disagree

site area: about 12 ha (DCD, Baxtel, bebeez); 2.5 to 3.7 ha (Gazette). Preferred: 12 ha site; 2.5-3.7 ha is the footprint of the one or two buildings. Gazette figure is the building coverage quoted in the same screening documents, not the site area
MW: up to 300MW (DCD, Baxtel, bebeez); not specified in application materials (Gazette). Preferred: 300MW as a developer figure. Consistent with TBC Partners' own statement of two 300MW projects (Didcot and Blyth)
application reference: TJEC8RQS0MK00 (DCD, called 'application reference'); no reference (Gazette). Preferred: Neither used as a council reference. The string matches the format of planning.org.uk document keys (see Wansbeck record); council screening reference not found
which applicant: TBC Partners (DCD, Baxtel, Gazette 17 Aug); Wansbeck Regeneration Ltd (a Gazette 'clear right off' article as summarised by the fetch tool). Preferred: TBC Partners. Fetch-tool summary of the later Gazette piece appears to have mislabelled the applicant; the earlier articles and DCD are consistent. Not rechecked on the portal.
distance to QTS: about one mile north of QTS's Cambois project (DCD). Preferred: DCD figure noted. Single source