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

All schemes

Decision pendingSouth East, England

Thames Valley Park data centre, Earley (Wokingham borough), Reading

Outline application 262274 (all matters reserved except access) was validated by Wokingham Borough Council on 28 September 2026 for demolition of the existing buildings and a 72MW IT data centre; public consultation runs 1 to 29 October 2026 (Planning Geek, 3 October). No decision. The earlier lead saying 'submitted 28 September' proved correct. [T14] [T15]

Key facts

Status
Decision pending (application submitted) [T14] [T15]
Decided by
Wokingham Borough Council (local planning authority; Reading Borough Council is a statutory consultee and the application would go to Wokingham's planning committee). Called in or DCO route: none found. [T10] [T14] [T15] [T3] [T5] [T8] [T9]
Applicant
Application record reported as naming FH Trustees Limited and FH Trustees 2 Limited, joint trustees of the Mapeley Beta HL Unit Trust (owners), with agent Nick Finney of Ove Arup and Partners (Planning Geek); the Plota listing of council data shows the applicant as 'Microsoft Ltd'. Unreconciled. [T11] [T14] [T15] [T3] [T8] [T9]
End user (reported)
Not confirmed: Microsoft occupies the existing offices, but the application record does not establish it as the future operator (Planning Geek)
References
262274
Location
Microsoft campus at Thames Valley Park, Earley, RG6 1WG, on the eastern edge of Reading. The developer says the site is about 5.3 hectares (developer) or 5.4 hectares (Planning Geek, from application documents) and would replace three Microsoft-occupied office buildings. The site is in Wokingham borough (Earley), not in Reading borough; Reading Borough Council is a neighbouring statutory consultee. [T10] [T14] [T15] [T3] [T5] [T8] [T9]
IT capacity
72MW [T14] [T2] [T3] [T8] [T9]
Total power
110MW [T14] [T2] [T3] [T8] [T9]
Site area
5.4 ha [T14] [T2] [T3] [T8] [T9]
Buildings
Single data centre building up to 30.5 metres high, 37,000 sq m gross new internal floorspace, with fuel cells, substation and plant, replacing three office buildings (Planning Geek, from application documents) [T14] [T2] [T3] [T8] [T9]
Investment (claimed)
Construction investment of GBP 165.7 to 208.4 million over four years; 195 to 245 construction FTE jobs; 40 to 65 direct operational jobs (applicant documents per Planning Geek, claimed). Earlier developer material claimed at least 115 operational jobs. [T14] [T2] [T3] [T8] [T9]
On-site generation
Natural gas fuel cells, 'future-fuel ready' for biomethane or hydrogen. Application documents give 42.5MW to 49.9MW of fuel cells, figures varying between documents (Planning Geek). The applicant's own energy strategy assessment states that 'Retaining gas fuel cells locks in a high, non-improving emissions profile' and that grid supply could reduce lifecycle emissions by 75% (as quoted by Planning Geek). [T1] [T10] [T11] [T14] [T2] [T3] [T9]
Backup generators
Generators shown on the developer's site plan; number and fuel not stated in the brochure. [T1] [T10] [T11] [T14] [T2] [T3] [T9]
Cooling and water
Air-cooled chillers to minimise water consumption; water-based cooling rejected; heat reuse opportunities to be assessed (developer material as reported). [T1] [T10] [T11] [T14] [T2] [T3] [T9]
Previous use
Office campus (Microsoft is tenant of three buildings; site owned by FH Trustees); described by the project team as 'greyfield' development meeting the local plan definition [T14] [T3] [T6a] [T9]
Environmental assessment
Voluntary Environmental Statement submitted without a formal EIA screening opinion (Planning Geek). Its non-technical summary identifies significant adverse effects including carbon effects from operational energy and heatwave and drought climate-resilience risks. Flood Zone 1 with localised surface-water risk; noise assessment predicts no significant residual effects if plant meets limits (applicant's assessment). Developer claims at least 10% biodiversity net gain. [T14] [T3] [T6a] [T9]

Timeline

  1. 2 July 2026
    DatacenterDynamics reports the plan for a 72MW data centre with natural gas fuel cells on the Microsoft campus. [T11]
  2. 3 July 2026
    Data Central reports the plan, with consultation in July and August and an application expected in autumn 2026. [T1]
  3. 7 July 2026
    Public exhibition at Pearson Hall, Sonning (Tuesday); concerns raised about heat and AI jobs. [T3]
  4. 16 July 2026
    Change.org petition 'AI Data Centre 72MW at Thames Valley Park, Reading - STOP construction' started by Jenna Grabey, addressed to Wokingham Borough Council's planning committee. [T6]
  5. 21 July 2026
    Developer's feedback deadline (online 'have your say' form at tvpdc.co.uk), per petitioner update of 20 July and the developer brochure. [T6a] [T10]
  6. 28 July 2026
    Reading Today reports more than 2,000 signatures on the petition. [T4]
  7. 2 September 2026
    BBC (as listed by Good Morning Reading) reports 'Thousands sign petition against proposed data centre'. [T7]
  8. 16 September 2026
    B Radio: project team says it is on schedule to submit its application to Wokingham Borough Council by the end of September 2026. (Reading Borough Council policy committee also met on 16 September per Reading Today.) [T8] [T5]
  9. 26 September 2026
    Reading Today (Local Democracy Reporting) reports Reading Borough Council has set out 'significant concerns' (Cllr Micky Leng) and that the petition has more than 5,000 signatures; application not yet submitted. [T5]
  10. 28 September 2026
    Outline application 262274 validated by Wokingham Borough Council. [T14] [T15]
  11. 1 October 2026
    Public consultation on application 262274 opens (to 29 October 2026). [T14]
  12. 3 October 2026
    Petition shows 5,333 verified signatures; no application found. [T6]

Politicians and organisations

  • Cllr Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley), Reading Borough Council lead councillor for planning: 'a number of significant concerns around a large-scale development of data centres in the local area'
  • Councillors Doug Cresswell and Nikulina (Green Party) attended the 7 July exhibition; Cllr Cresswell said he was 'not convinced that Wokingham needs a large additional source of heat'; Leon Cook (Conservative) said there would be many constituent comments
  • Reading Borough Council (neighbouring authority; statutory consultee once an application is lodged)
  • Earley Town Council hosts the developer's brochure on its website (no position seen)

Claims

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

  • Project consultation material (thamesvalleyparkdatacentre.co.uk) as reported by Data Central (developer): More than GBP 200 million of construction investment, up to 245 construction jobs and at least 115 full-time equivalent operational roles; at least 10% biodiversity net gain; operation from 2031. [T1] [T2]
  • Project brochure, as quoted in Reading Today (developer): The facility would support UK data sovereignty and is critical national infrastructure. [T4]
  • Project material as reported by Data Central (developer): Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction rather than combustion and are future-fuel ready. [T1] [T2]
  • Petition author Jenna Grabey (Change.org) (campaigners): Data centres raise land surface temperatures by about 2C; 115 jobs do not offset infrastructure strain; promised 10% biodiversity gain would be negated. [T6]
  • Reading Borough Council (Cllr Micky Leng, lead councillor for planning), quoted by Reading Today (council): Reading Borough Council has 'significant concerns': greenhouse gas emissions threatening net zero targets, high energy and water demand, heat and noise from cooling, limited employment compared with warehouses. [T5]
  • Thames Valley Park Data Centre project team (developer): At least 10% biodiversity net gain; air-based cooling with closed-loop water to minimise water demand; heat reuse for nearby businesses being assessed [T9] [T10] [T4]
  • Petition organiser Jenna Grabey (petition text; the water figure is a general industry claim, not specific to this scheme) (campaigners): The facility could be leased to any company, would use about 110 million gallons of water a year, and is redundant given capacity in Slough, Swindon and Didcot [T6] [T12]
  • Cllr Micky Leng, Reading Borough Council lead councillor for planning (a neighbouring authority, not the decision-maker) (council): Significant concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and local net zero ambitions, energy and water demand, heat and noise, and pollution from fossil-fuel backup [T5]
  • Applicant's energy strategy and Environmental Statement summary, as quoted by Planning Geek (developer): Switching from gas fuel cells to full grid supply could cut lifecycle emissions by 75%; retaining gas fuel cells locks in a high, non-improving emissions profile; heat reuse depends on infrastructure and commitments outside the applicant's control [T14]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [T1] Reading weighs gas-backed data centre. Data Central, 3 July 2026. Level 5 source.
  2. [T2] Reading puts gas in the data centre queue. Data Central, 7 July 2026. Level 5 source.
  3. [T3] Fears over heat and AI jobs dominate Reading data centre consultation. Reading Today (Local Democracy Reporting Service), 13 July 2026. Level 4 source.
  4. [T4] More than 2000 object to proposed Thames Valley Park data centre. Reading Today, 28 July 2026. Level 4 source.
  5. [T5] Reading council breaks silence on controversial data centre plans. Reading Today (Local Democracy Reporting Service), 26 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  6. [T6] AI Data Centre 72MW at Thames Valley Park, Reading - STOP construction (petition). Change.org, 16 July 2026. Level 6 source.
  7. [T7] Good Morning Reading, 2 September 2026 (lead story links BBC: 'Thousands sign petition against proposed data centre'). Good Morning Reading, 2 September 2026. Level 7 source.
  8. [T8] Major Data Centre Plans Advance in Reading. B Radio, 16 September 2026. Level 4 source.
  9. [T9] Thames Valley Park Data Centre (brochure, Earley Town Council website). Thames Valley Park Data Centre project team (developer consultation), 2026-06. Level 3 source.
  10. [T10] Proposed Development - Thames Valley Park Data Centre. Thames Valley Park Data Centre project team (developer website). Level 3 source.
  11. [T11] Microsoft UK's Thames Valley Park campus could be redeveloped as a gas-powered data center. DatacenterDynamics, 2 July 2026. Level 5 source.
  12. [T12] Concerns raised over planned data centre on the outskirts of Reading. Hits Radio / Hello Rayo, 29 August 2026. Level 4 source.
  13. [T6a] Petition update: Feedback deadline to TVP is July 21st!. Change.org (petitioner Jenna Grabey), 20 July 2026. Level 6 source.
  14. [T13] Freedom of information: data centres (request 21490, answered 25 March 2026). Wokingham Borough Council, 25 March 2026. Level 1 source.
  15. [T14] 72MW Thames Valley Park data centre enters planning with gas-backed power plan. Planning Geek, 3 October 2026. Level 5 source.
  16. [T15] Wokingham planning applications listing (application 262274, council data). Plota, 28 September 2026. Level 7 source.
  17. [T16] AI Data Centre 72MW at Thames Valley Park, Reading - STOP construction (second URL, same petition). Change.org (Jenna Grabey), 16 July 2026. Level 6 source.
  18. [T17] Wokingham data centre: emissions fears over 72MW. Fuse Energy, 22 July 2026. Level 7 source.