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 overEast of England, England

Houghton Regis (Linmere Island) data centre, Chalton

Councillors resolved to approve on 2 July 2025, but no decision notice issued because the s106 agreement was never completed. After a solicitor's letter of 20 March 2026 (climate mitigation not secured by condition; draft s106 not published), the committee voted 9-0 on 6 May 2026 to approve again with condition 24 amended and a heat island informative. As of the last source found (7 May 2026) the s106 was still being finalised and no decision notice had issued. [S1] [S2] [S8] [S9]

Key facts

Status
Approved - but it's not over (resolution to grant) [S1] [S2] [S8] [S9]
Decided by
Central Bedfordshire Council (Development Management Committee) [S1] [S2]
Applicant
Colliers Properties LLC [S1] [S5] [S6] [S11] [S12]
Developer or backer
Amazon Data Services UK Limited is named as operator on the Environment Agency permit for the same site (company number 09959151). Agent: Nick Finney. Design team includes Arup.
End user (reported)
Amazon / AWS (reported; Amazon Data Services UK Ltd is the permit holder; Amazon did not respond to Luton Today)
References
CB/24/03164/FULL; CB/24/01976/SCN; EPR/AP3427SQ/A001; CB/12/03613/OUT; CB/24/03450/NMA; CB/25/00665/FULL
Location
Land east of Sundon Road (B5790) and west of the A505 at Chalton, within the Houghton Regis North (Linmere) strategic allocation, Central Bedfordshire. Environment Agency permit gives grid reference TL 03503 25622, access via the Woodside Link off the M1, about 7 km north-west of Luton. Previously arable land. [S1] [S5] [S6]
Site area
8.7 ha [S1] [S5]
Buildings
Two data centre buildings (Building A and B), about 20 m high with some elements to about 25 m, plus substation compound and 100 car parking spaces (earlier report) [S1] [S5]
On-site generation
About 140 solar PV panels and rainwater harvesting reported (claimed, secondary sources). Waste heat: condition 29 requires a district heating feasibility study before commencement. [S1] [S5] [S6] [S9] [S15] [S16]
Backup generators
Officer report: 43 emergency diesel generators. Environment Agency permit (29 January 2026): 42 standby gas oil generators, about 324.6 MW thermal input (40 at 8 MWth and 2 at 2.1 MWth), emergency use limited to 500 hours a year, 42 flues terminating 25 m above ground, fuel gas oil or HVO. [S1] [S5] [S6] [S9] [S15] [S16]
Cooling and water
Air-cooled design; the applicant's agent says no water is used for cooling for about 97% of the year (claimed by developer, Luton Today 7 May 2026). Officer report gives no cooling water figures. Water supply: Affinity Water (report notes development is outside its boundary but emails of 18 to 20 June 2025 refer to supply from Affinity with no major issues at pre-application stage); Anglian Water for foul drainage. EA permit: surface water via oil separator to Ouzel Brook. [S1] [S5] [S6] [S9] [S15] [S16]
Designations
Strategic allocation (Houghton Regis North / Linmere); not Green Belt (earlier officer report); Public rights of way nearby (Chalton FP6, FP7, Bounds Way, historic 'Theedway' track); Skylark breeding habitat loss requires off-site compensation plots within 5 km; Biodiversity net gain: 28.7% loss in habitat units on site, 74.84% gain in hedgerow units, with off-site habitat bank (earlier report) [S1] [S5]
Previous use
Arable farmland, within the Linmere strategic allocation and the 2014 outline permission [S1] [S5]
Environmental assessment
EIA screening opinion CB/24/01976/SCN (31 July 2024) concluded EIA not required [S1] [S5]
Public objections
1 [S1] [S5] [S10] [S13]

Timeline

  1. 2 June 2014
    Outline permission CB/12/03613/OUT granted for Houghton Regis North, including a data centre of up to 5,000 sq m [S5]
  2. 28 July 2024
    Developer's pre-application consultation: responses requested by this date [S14]
  3. 31 July 2024
    EIA screening opinion CB/24/01976/SCN: EIA not required [S5]
  4. 5 November 2024
    Application CB/24/03164/FULL registered [S5]
  5. 7 January 2025
    Non-material amendment CB/24/03450/NMA granted, removing the data centre reference from the outline permission [S5]
  6. 15 January 2025
    Anglian Water objected to the foul network connection (capacity and pollution risk) [S5] [S1]
  7. 28 February 2025
    Environment Agency permit consultation opened (closed 2025-03-28) [S7]
  8. 6 June 2025
    Foxglove and Global Action Plan published their submissions opposing the scheme [S13]
  9. 2 July 2025
    Development Management Committee resolved to approve subject to conditions (including an added district heating condition) and a s106 agreement; no decision notice issued because the s106 was not completed [S1]
  10. 3 July 2025
    Luton Today reported the approval [S10]
  11. 29 January 2026
    Environment Agency issued bespoke permit EPR/AP3427SQ/A001 to Amazon Data Services UK Limited for 42 standby generators [S6]
  12. 20 March 2026
    Third-party solicitor's letter to the council: climate and renewable mitigation not secured by condition; draft s106 not published (judicial review threatened) [S1] [S8]
  13. 6 May 2026
    Development Management Committee voted 9-0 to approve again, with condition 24 amended to allow for technological advances and an informative to monitor the heat island effect [S2] [S3]
  14. 7 May 2026
    Luton Today reported the second approval; draft s106 published; decision notice not yet issued [S9]

Statutory consultees

BodyPositionDateDetail
Anglian Waterobjection15 January 2025Objected to connection to the foul network on capacity and pollution-risk grounds; report says it was to be overcome through a pre-development enquiry. No withdrawal found in the sources read. [S1] [S5]
Natural Englandno objectionNo objection recorded in the earlier officer report [S5]
National Highwaysno objectionNo objection recorded in the earlier officer report [S5]
Central Bedfordshire Council Highwaysno objectionNo objection subject to conditions (February 2025, day not given) [S5]

Politicians and organisations

  • Cllr Keith Featherstone (Chalton Parish Council) spoke against at both committees
  • Chalton Parish Council (objected 2024-12-11, 2025-03-05, 2025-05-15 and 2025-06-06; 11 grounds including generator noise, cable route, visual impact and lack of energy efficiency and waste heat information)
  • Houghton Regis Town Council (supported Chalton's objections)
  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (submissions opposing, June 2025)
  • A third-party objector represented by a solicitor (letter 20 March 2026)

Claims

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

  • Colliers Properties LLC / agent (developer): Scheme will create 70 permanent jobs and about 350 construction jobs (developer figures cited in the officer report); developer site says 70 to 100 operational staff [S1] [S5] [S14]
  • Applicant's planning agent (developer): Air-cooled design: no water used for cooling for about 97% of the year [S9]
  • Colliers Properties LLC (developer): About 140 PV panels and rainwater harvesting; operator committed to net zero emissions by 2040 [S14] [S15]
  • Tim Squirrell, Foxglove (campaigners): Data centres of this kind tend to use between 4 and 19 million litres of water a day for cooling; unclear how much Affinity Water would have to supply [S10]
  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (campaigners): New hyperscale facilities will emit carbon comparable to major international airports; the power and water needs have not been disclosed [S11] [S13]
  • Chalton Parish Council (other): The data centre is likely to draw 50MW to possibly 100MW (and is listed at 50MW power usage in a parish letter of 19 February 2026) [S1] [S16]
  • Central Bedfordshire Council planning officers (council): Planning requirements on sustainability and energy efficiency are suitably addressed through building regulations and conditions [S5] [S1]
  • Third-party objector's solicitor (not named in sources) (other): Climate-related and renewable energy mitigation relied on was not suitably secured by condition, and the draft s106 should have been published before any grant [S1] [S8]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [S1] Officer committee report and 2026 addendum, CB/24/03164/FULL, Land East of Sundon Road B5790 and West of A505, Houghton Regis (DMC 6 May 2026 item 7). Central Bedfordshire Council, 6 May 2026. Level 1 source.
  2. [S2] Printed minutes, Development Management Committee, 6 May 2026. Central Bedfordshire Council, 6 May 2026. Level 1 source.
  3. [S3] Agenda front sheet and document listing, Development Management Committee, 6 May 2026. Central Bedfordshire Council, 6 May 2026. Level 1 source.
  4. [S4] Late sheet, Development Management Committee, 6 May 2026 (no changes for this item). Central Bedfordshire Council, 5 May 2026. Level 1 source.
  5. [S5] Officer committee report, CB/24/03164/FULL (earlier version, file named DMC 04.06.2025). Central Bedfordshire Council. Level 1 source.
  6. [S6] Environmental permit EPR/AP3427SQ/A001 decision document, Linmere Island Data Centre (Amazon Data Services UK Limited). Environment Agency, 29 January 2026. Level 2 source.
  7. [S7] LU5 5GX, Amazon Data Services UK Limited, EPR/AP3427SQ/A001: environmental permit consultation. Environment Agency, 28 February 2025. Level 2 source.
  8. [S8] Legal challenge sends data centre plan near Houghton Regis back to the council. Luton Today, 30 April 2026. Level 4 source.
  9. [S9] Data centre near Houghton Regis approved again after legal challenge. Luton Today, 7 May 2026. Level 4 source.
  10. [S10] Data centre near Houghton Regis approved - despite concerns over water use. Luton Today, 3 July 2025. Level 4 source.
  11. [S11] 'Amazon should be straight with people': Campaigners oppose planned data centre near Houghton Regis over environmental concerns. Luton Today, 19 June 2025. Level 4 source.
  12. [S12] Campaigners oppose AWS-linked data center in Bedfordshire, UK, over water and power fears. DatacenterDynamics, 9 June 2025. Level 5 source.
  13. [S13] Foxglove and Global Action Plan put in submissions opposing second UK data centre. Foxglove, 6 June 2025. Level 6 source.
  14. [S14] Houghton Regis Datacentre (developer consultation website). Colliers Properties LLC / Community Consultants TFA. Level 3 source.
  15. [S15] Bedfordshire data centres recommended for approval to local council. The Sectorscope, 9 July 2025. Level 5 source.
  16. [S16] Houghton Regis Town Council planning committee agenda 2 March 2026 (quotes Chalton Parish Council letter of 19 February 2026 listing the data centre at 50MW power usage). Houghton Regis Town Council, 2 March 2026. Level 6 source.
  17. [S17] Chalton Parish Council agenda 19 January 2026 (notes Environment Agency permit consultation update). Chalton Parish Council, 19 January 2026. Level 6 source.
  18. [S18] Environment Agency issues permit for Linmere Island Data Centre. Telborg, 5 February 2026. Level 7 source.
  19. [S19] Amazon AWS - Houghton Regis DC1 Data Center in Luton. datacentermap.com. Level 7 source.