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

North Weald Airfield data centre campus (Google)

Planning Committee A voted on 10 December 2025 to approve the outline application with conditions, subject to a s106 agreement. On 29 April 2026 a follow-up item to revisit the conditions was withdrawn after legal advice and the matter left to officers under delegation, after Leigh Day (for Foxglove and Global Action Plan) questioned the climate conditions. We found no evidence that the s106 has been signed or a decision notice issued. [S1] [S3] [S4] [S15]

Key facts

Status
Approved - but it's not over (resolution to grant) [S1] [S3] [S4] [S15]
Decided by
Epping Forest District Council (Planning Committee A; conditions and s106 now being finalised by officers under delegation) [S1] [S3] [S4]
Applicant
Global Infrastructure UK Ltd [S1] [S12]
Developer or backer
Google
End user (reported)
Google
References
EPF/0849/25; EPF/1449/24; EPF/1680/25
Location
Land west of Merlin Way on North Weald Airfield (about 21 ha, former RAF airfield, formerly council-owned), North Weald Bassett, Epping Forest district, Essex. Outside the Green Belt and allocated for employment use (Local Plan Policy P6, allocation NWB.E4A) according to the officer report. Includes demolition of gate security and fire station buildings. This is a different scheme from Google's separate Thurrock / Arena Essex proposal, which is not part of this record. [S1] [S6] [S20]
IT capacity
164MW [S1] [S11]
Total power
229.6MW [S1] [S11]
Site area
21 ha [S1] [S11]
Buildings
Up to two data centre buildings plus a separate office building; maximum height 24 m (stepped zones); about 206 parking spaces; 2,550 sq m substation reported by DCD [S1] [S11]
On-site generation
Solar PV and air source heat pumps, quantities to be confirmed at reserved matters. Detailed Energy Strategy required before commencement; waste heat recovery opportunities to be fully explored. [S1] [S15]
Backup generators
Emergency backup generators with fuel tanks and/or battery storage; number not specified at outline stage (Epping Forest air quality officers want specifications at reserved matters). [S1] [S15]
Cooling and water
Air-cooled chillers; no potable water for cooling (applicant's case as set out in the report). Potable supply from Affinity Water via a 150 mm main; Affinity to discuss peak load at reserved matters. Thames Water: no objection subject to a condition confirming foul and surface water capacity or phasing. [S1] [S15]
Designations
Outside Green Belt (officer report); Local Plan employment allocation NWB.E4A, Policy P6; Grade II listed air traffic control tower to be retained and converted to a heritage and innovation hub; Within North Weald Airfield Strategic Masterplan area and the UK Innovation Corridor; Grade II* Church of St Andrew about 600 m north [S1]
Previous use
Former RAF airfield, now an operational general aviation airfield; the site includes the gate security and fire station buildings, which would be demolished [S1]
Environmental assessment
EIA development: scoping opinion EPF/1449/24 and a 15-chapter Environmental Statement submitted [S1]

Timeline

  1. 2024-01
    Google bought the airfield site from Epping Forest District Council (about 21 ha; price reported as £88.2m or £88.4m). Month only known [S9] [S11] [S15]
  2. 9 July 2024
    Google launched pre-application consultation; public events on 12 and 13 July 2024 [S8] [S6]
  3. 16 August 2024
    Parish council responded to the EIA scoping report [S6]
  4. 19 May 2025
    North Weald Bassett Parish Council planning committee resolved to object to EPF/0849/25 [S6] [S7]
  5. 21 May 2025
    Outline application EPF/0849/25 submitted to Epping Forest District Council (parish page); trade press reported it from 27 May 2025 [S6] [S12]
  6. 10 December 2025
    Planning Committee A voted to approve with conditions, subject to a s106 agreement [S1] [S3] [S13] [S14]
  7. 29 April 2026
    Item revisiting EPF/0849/25 withdrawn from Planning Committee A agenda following advice from the Council's legal team and agreement of the chair; officers to adjust conditions and legal agreement under the delegation scheme [S4] [S15]
  8. 10 May 2026
    Local press reported Leigh Day (for Foxglove and Global Action Plan) had questioned the climate and renewable energy conditions; revised wording requires a specific energy plan. Date of the Leigh Day letter not found [S15]

Statutory consultees

BodyPositionDateDetail
North Weald Bassett Parish Councilobjection19 May 2025Airfield obstacle limitation surfaces, loss of views from the listed control tower, 36 month construction access via Siskin Way roundabout, noise, policy P6 and DM7 [S6] [S7]
Historic Englandno objectionNo formal objection; wants a robust strategy for converting the listed control tower [S1]
National Highwaysno objectionNo objection (officers say no M11 Junction 7 contribution required) [S1]
Environment Agencyno objectionNo objection recorded in the officer report [S1]
Thames Waterno objectionNo objection subject to a condition on foul and surface water capacity [S1]
Essex County Council Highwaysno objectionAcceptable subject to conditions (bus funding, travel plan, construction management) [S1]
Epping Forest District Council Conservation and Urban Design officers (internal)objectionConservation objects (harm to designated and non-designated heritage assets); Urban Design does not support (height, articulation, design code) [S1]

Politicians and organisations

  • Cllr Alan Lion (Planning Committee vice-chair) quoted in the press: scheme is much bigger than the Local Plan envisaged, but offers significant employment
  • North Weald Bassett Parish Council (objects)
  • CPRE Essex (objects)
  • Foxglove (objects, listed in the officer report)
  • Epping Forest Heritage Trust (objected and briefed councillors)
  • Leigh Day acting for Foxglove and Global Action Plan (2026 correspondence on climate conditions)
  • Epping Forest Digital Innovation Zone (supports)

Claims

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

  • Google / applicant (as cited in the officer report and press) (developer): Scheme would support up to 780 local jobs (100 to 200 direct), about £79m a year of local GVA and up to £319m nationally [S1] [S9] [S10]
  • Google / applicant (developer): Air-cooled technology, solar generation and biodiversity net gain; scheme is 'nationally significant and sustainable' [S1] [S10]
  • Leigh Day for Foxglove and Global Action Plan (campaigners): Planning balance does not explicitly reference climate impacts, greenhouse gas emissions or energy efficiency; the Climate Change chapter and Energy Statement do not specify the type or quantum of renewable energy [S15]
  • North Weald Bassett Parish Council, citing the applicant's noise report (other): Noise increases of 5 to 18 dB at nearby homes (up to +18 dB at night from emergency generators) and breaches of airfield obstacle limitation surfaces [S7]
  • Epping Forest District Council planning officers (council): Heritage harm is 'less than substantial'; economic benefits outweigh it [S1]
  • Cllr Alan Lion, Planning Committee vice-chair (council): The scheme is much bigger than envisaged in the Local Plan [S14]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [S1] Planning Application EPF/0849/25, Land west of Merlin Way, North Weald Airfield, North Weald Bassett (officer report, Planning Committee A, 10 December 2025, item 7). Epping Forest District Council, 10 December 2025. Level 1 source.
  2. [S2] Addendum for Item 7 Data centre (Planning Committee A, 10 December 2025): revised condition 2 and Heritage and Innovation Hub obligations. Epping Forest District Council, 10 December 2025. Level 1 source.
  3. [S3] Planning Committee A meeting documents, 10 December 2025 (states the committee voted to approve with conditions). Epping Forest District Council, 10 December 2025. Level 1 source.
  4. [S4] Planning Committee A documents and printed minutes, 29 April 2026 (EPF/0849/25 withdrawn from agenda after legal advice; delegation scheme invoked). Epping Forest District Council, 29 April 2026. Level 1 source.
  5. [S5] Planning Committee A meetings list 2026 and agendas for 10 June and 22 July 2026 (no data centre items). Epping Forest District Council, 22 July 2026. Level 1 source.
  6. [S6] Google Data Centre (parish council page: timeline and references). North Weald Bassett Parish Council, 21 May 2025. Level 2 source.
  7. [S7] Planning committee minutes 19 May 2025 (objection to EPF/0849/25). North Weald Bassett Parish Council, 19 May 2025. Level 2 source.
  8. [S8] North Weald Data Centre (Google consultation website, July 2024). Google, 9 July 2024. Level 3 source.
  9. [S9] Google's latest UK data centre gains planning approval despite local opposition. Data Centre Review, 16 December 2025. Level 5 source.
  10. [S10] Epping Forest DC approves Google data centre outline plans. LocalGov, 15 December 2025. Level 5 source.
  11. [S11] Google gets approval for data center project at RAF airfield in Essex, UK. DatacenterDynamics. Level 5 source.
  12. [S12] Parish council objects to Google's proposed data center development outside London, UK. DatacenterDynamics, 27 May 2025. Level 5 source.
  13. [S13] Google's Essex datacentre approved despite local concerns. Computing, 15 December 2025. Level 5 source.
  14. [S14] Data centre at North Weald Airfield backed by councillors. CPRE Essex. Level 6 source.
  15. [S15] Update on huge Google data centre in North Weald as energy use questioned (syndicated as Your Thurrock). Your Harlow, 10 May 2026. Level 4 source.
  16. [S16] Local development and planning (monitoring page noting EFHT objection to North Weald data centre). Epping Forest Heritage Trust. Level 6 source.
  17. [S17] Officer report EPF/1680/25, temporary parking for North Weald market on 2.3 ha of airfield land (replaces parking lost to the data centre). Epping Forest District Council. Level 1 source.
  18. [S18] Google: North Weald Airfield Data Center. Baxtel. Level 7 source.
  19. [S19] Google North Weald Data Center in Essex. datacentermap.com, 11 December 2025. Level 7 source.
  20. [S20] North Weald Airfield (coordinates of the airfield). Wikipedia. Level 7 source.
  21. [S21] Petition: Ban data centres within 10 miles of Epping Forest. Change.org, 2 July 2026. Level 6 source.