Early stageSouth West, England

Express Distribution Park data centre campus, Horsey, near Bridgwater

Somerset Council approved an initial EIA screening request (submitted on 24 December 2025 per Datacentre.me) and Lichfields, for Express Distribution Park, sought an EIA scoping opinion under reference 09/25/00024 for a campus of up to 500MW across 250,000 sqm; the parish council lists that reference as a scoping opinion request. No scoping opinion outcome, planning application, refusal, withdrawal or appeal has been found as at 3 October 2026 (limited check: council portal unreadable, search allowance ran out). Two Change.org petitions oppose the scheme, the larger with nearly 19,000 signatures. ^{[S1] [S2] [S5] [S8] [S10]}

Key facts

Status: Early stage (screening or scoping) ^{[S1] [S2] [S5] [S8] [S10]}
Decided by: Somerset Council (local planning authority) ^{[S1] [S2]}
Applicant: Express Distribution Park Ltd (Bridgwater-based land promoter) ^{[S1] [S2] [S5] [S6]}
Developer or backer: Agent Lichfields. No operator or end user identified
References: 09/25/00024 (listed as 09/25/00024/TT by Bridgwater Without Parish Council)
Location: About 130ha (129ha in some accounts) of land at Horsey north of Bridgwater, in the Bridgwater Without parish, near junction 23 of the M5 and the A39 Bath Road, next to a solar farm; reported to lie partly in Flood Zone 3 in the Somerset Levels. ^{[S1] [S2] [S5]}
Total power: 500MW ^{[S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]}
Site area: 130 ha ^{[S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]}
Buildings: Multiple buildings, up to 28m high (as reported) ^{[S1] [S2] [S4] [S5] [S8]}
On-site generation: Neighbouring solar farm reported as the primary energy source (reported as part of the proposal; basis not confirmed) ^{[S2] [S4] [S5] [S9]}
Cooling and water: Not specified by the developer in sources opened. Campaigners claim: the larger petition cites unanswered questions on drainage and water use; the Horsey Lane petition claims cooling would need an estimated 11 million to 19 million litres per day (campaigner claim, no basis given) ^{[S2] [S4] [S5] [S9]}
Designations: Flood Zone 3 (parish council concern, as reported); Somerset Levels low-lying farmland (as described in petition) ^{[S2] [S4] [S5]}
Previous use: Agricultural land (loss of agricultural land cited by parish council) ^{[S2] [S4] [S5]}
Environmental assessment: Screening approved (EIA required in practice as scoping opinion sought); scoping opinion outcome not found ^{[S2] [S4] [S5]}

Timeline

24 December 2025
EIA screening request submitted to Somerset Council on Christmas Eve (Datacentre.me gives 24 December 2025; the year is now supported by that source and by the 09/25 reference prefix) ^{[S5] [S8]}
18 February 2026
Trade press reports the scoping request: up to 500MW, 250,000 sqm, 130ha; Somerset Council had approved the initial screening request ^{[S1] [S3]}
20 February 2026
Somerset Leveller reports a 'scoping opinion' being sought by Lichfields; Environment Agency and Natural England asked for assessments of flooding, biodiversity and water resources; Bridgwater Without Parish Council objected ^[S2]
2 June 2026
South West Farmer describes the Horsey scheme as an early-stage scoping request linked to Express Distribution Park and Lichfields, not a planning approval ^[S10]
15 July 2026
Second Change.org petition, "Stop the build of the AI data centre on Horsey Lane" (Jaya Lemaitre), created (as shown on page) ^[S9]
22 July 2026
Change.org petition "No Data Centre on the Somerset Levels" created (22 July 2026, shown on page on 2 and 3 October 2026 fetches) ^[S4]

Statutory consultees

Body	Position	Date	Detail
Bridgwater Without Parish Council	objection		Flood risk (Flood Zone 3), ecological impact, loss of agricultural land, energy and climate, landscape and visual impact, construction HGV traffic ^{[S2] [S5]}

Politicians and organisations

Referendum on Transparency (Change.org petition starter)
Bridgwater Without Parish Council
Jaya Lemaitre (starter, "Stop the build of the AI data centre on Horsey Lane" petition)

Claims

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

Express Distribution Park / Lichfields scoping request (as reported) (developer): Up to 500MW and 250,000 sqm across multiple buildings; one of the largest campuses in the UK if fully built out ^{[S1] [S2]}
Express Distribution Park (as reported by Datacentre.me) (developer): Construction about 3.5 years, operational in the early 2030s, powered primarily by the neighbouring solar farm ^[S5]
Change.org petition text (campaigners): Data centres classed as Critical National Infrastructure can bypass local council rejection through the Secretary of State ^[S4]
Bridgwater Without Parish Council (as reported) (other): Flood risk on site and downstream, heavy goods traffic and visual impact from 28m structures ^{[S2] [S5]}
Jaya Lemaitre, starter of the Horsey Lane Change.org petition (no source given for the water estimate) (campaigners): Cooling would need an estimated 11 million to 19 million litres of water per day; noise and light pollution and harm to wildlife ^[S9]
Express Distribution Park / Lichfields as reported by Somerset Leveller (not verified; Datacentre.me instead says the neighbouring solar farm is the primary source) (developer): Facility "powered by 500MW already serving the site" ^{[S2] [S5]}

Campaigns

No Data Centre on the Somerset Levels (18,978 signatures)
Stop the build of the AI data centre on Horsey Lane (2,474 signatures)

Sources

[S1] 500MW data center campus planned in Somerset, UK. DatacenterDynamics, 18 February 2026. Level 5 source.
[S2] Huge data centre proposed near Bridgwater could rank among the UK's largest. Somerset Leveller, 20 February 2026. Level 4 source.
[S3] 500MW data center campus planned in Somerset, UK (republishing Bridgwater Mercury report). BeBeez, 18 February 2026. Level 4 source.
[S4] No Data Centre on the Somerset Levels. Change.org. Level 6 source.
[S5] Proposed 500MW Somerset data centre campus signals UK capacity expansion. Datacentre.me, 26 February 2026. Level 5 source.
[S6] Express Distribution Park Ltd Data Centers and Colocation. Baxtel. Level 7 source.
[S7] Somerset Council planning register (disclaimer page only). Somerset Council. Level 1 source.
[S8] Planning application 09/25/00024/TT (scoping opinion request), listing on parish council site. Bridgwater Without Parish Council. Level 4 source.
[S9] Stop the build of the AI data centre on Horsey Lane. Change.org. Level 6 source.
[S10] Travellers pitches near Bridgwater data centre site refused (also debunks a false Facebook claim about a Westhay/Meare/Ashcott data centre). South West Farmer, 2 June 2026. Level 4 source.
[S11] Somerset Council Planning Online application link for 09/25/00024 (returned the search page only, no record). Somerset Council. Level 1 source.
[S12] Somerset Council: Public Notices, 16 September 2026 (checked for any Horsey, Bath Road, data centre or Environmental Statement notice: none found). Somerset Leveller, 16 September 2026. 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

Somerset Council's screening opinion and scoping opinion documents, their dates and whether EIA was required
The reference of the separate screening request and the date of the screening opinion (09/25/00024 is listed as a scoping request)
Dates of the Environment Agency, Natural England and parish council responses (none given in press)
Any planning application, end user, operator or grid connection offer
MP and councillor positions
Whether the scoping opinion has been issued and what it says
Whether the 2 October Change.org count of 18,933 and the 3 October count of 18,978 reflect organic growth (page figures only; no independent check possible)
Somerset Planning Online record for 09/25/00024 was fetched again on 3 October 2026 and returned only the search form, so the scoping opinion date and outcome remain unknown

Where sources disagree

stage: screening versus scoping: Somerset Council approved an initial EIA screening request (DCD, BeBeez, Datacentre.me); A scoping opinion is being sought by Lichfields under 09/25/00024 (Somerset Leveller; parish council listing; South West Farmer calls it an early-stage scoping request). Preferred: screening_or_scoping; 09/25/00024 is the scoping opinion request, the screening request reference is unknown. The parish council listing of the council application describes 09/25/00024 as a scoping opinion request. The screening approval is reported separately without a reference. The council record itself still could not be read
site area: 130ha (DCD, Somerset Leveller, BeBeez); 129ha / 319 acres (Datacentre.me, petition). Preferred: 130ha. Figure in the scoping request as reported by trade press; difference is rounding
location description: North of Bridgwater with the M5 to the west (DCD); West of Bath Road, Horsey, near M5 junction 23 (Somerset Leveller); Between the A39 Bath Road and the solar farm, east of M5 junction 23 (Datacentre.me). Preferred: Near M5 junction 23 between the A39 Bath Road and the motorway, adjacent to a solar farm. Directional descriptions differ; the scoping drawings would settle it
when applications were expected / energy source: Somerset Leveller: plans "to be submitted in the coming months" (20 February 2026); Datacentre.me: construction about 3.5 years, early 2030s; solar farm primary energy; Somerset Leveller: powered by 500MW already serving the site. Preferred: record as reported, all developer claims. No document from the applicant was reachable; Express Distribution Park website not opened
Change.org petition creation dates: 22 July 2026 (No Data Centre on the Somerset Levels); 15 July 2026 (Stop the build of the AI data centre on Horsey Lane). Preferred: both as shown on the pages. Two different petitions on the same site; not a conflict about one petition