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

All schemes

Council said no - overruledSouth East, England

Woodlands Park data centre, Iver (former landfill)

The Secretary of State allowed the called-in appeal and granted outline permission on 9 July 2025. Foxglove and Global Action Plan challenged it in the High Court; the Government conceded in January 2026 that the decision should be quashed, and permission to proceed was granted on 22 January 2026. In April 2026 Greystoke accepted that the environmental mitigation must be made binding through a contract with the council, and the claimants' case was reported closed with costs. No court order, consent order or quashing notice has been found, and the gov.uk recovered-appeals collection (entries to 30 July 2026) shows no redetermination decision, so whether the permission was formally quashed or still stands is unconfirmed. [W1] [W2] [W6] [W7] [W12] [W13] [W14] [W17]

Key facts

Status
Council said no - overruled (appeal decided) [W1] [W2] [W6] [W7] [W12] [W13] [W14] [W17]
Decided by
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (recovered appeal decided 9 July 2025; outcome of the later High Court claim on the permission not confirmed) [W1] [W2] [W12] [W14]
Applicant
Greystoke Land Limited and Altrad UK Limited (appellants) [W2] [W15]
Developer or backer
Greystoke (developer; also behind other Greystoke data centre schemes); Altrad UK is the other appellant
References
APP/N0410/W/24/3347353; PL/24/0754/OA; APP/N0410/W/22/3307420 (recovered appeal decision 30 October 2023: an EARLIER, larger 163,000 sq m three-building scheme on the same land, refused; do not confuse with the 2024 scheme); High Court claim number not found (judicial review brought by Foxglove and Global Action Plan; described as a planning statutory challenge under s288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in Foxglove's launch article)
Location
Woodlands Park landfill site, land south of Slough Road, Iver, Buckinghamshire; former landfill in the Green Belt next to the M25 (site area about 22.15 ha). [W1] [W2] [W3]
Site area
22.15 ha [W2] [W11]
Buildings
Two buildings, each with a maximum footprint of about 31,921.5 sq m, maximum height 14m plus 4m flues [W2] [W11]
Investment (claimed)
GBP 1 billion (as stated by law firm Stevens & Bolton; original source of the figure not stated) [W2] [W11]
On-site generation
No on-site generation beyond emergency backup generators with fuel storage. [W2] [W5]
Backup generators
Emergency backup generators and fuel storage included; number not stated in the extracts read; testing hours limited by condition 43. [W2] [W5]
Cooling and water
Air-cooled servers; the decision letter describes limited water demand 'commensurate with commercial premises of this scale'. Greystoke claims zero water use for cooling (as reported by Foxglove). [W2] [W5]
Designations
Green Belt (Secretary of State found the site to be 'grey belt', so the development was not inappropriate) [W2] [W6] [W7] [W9]
Previous use
Former landfill [W2] [W6] [W7] [W9]
Environmental assessment
The Secretary of State accepted the inspector's view that a full EIA was not required, relying on a suite of mitigation measures. The Government later conceded this was a 'serious logical error' because not all the mitigation was secured in the permission. [W2] [W6] [W7] [W9]

Timeline

  1. 30 October 2023
    Secretary of State dismisses recovered appeal 3307420 for an earlier, larger scheme (up to 163,000 sq m across three buildings) on the same land. Earlier round, shown only to avoid confusion. [W4] [W9]
  2. 5 March 2024
    Application PL/24/0754/OA (outline, up to 72,000 sq m across two buildings) dated 5 March 2024, per the decision letter. [W2]
  3. 25 June 2024
    Buckinghamshire Council refuses PL/24/0754/OA (date from the decision letter as extracted; Computer Weekly says June 2024). [W2] [W8]
  4. 24 October 2024
    Appeal 3347353 recovered for the Secretary of State's own decision. [W2]
  5. 11 December 2024
    Public inquiry opens at Buckinghamshire Council offices, High Wycombe (sat 11 to 18 December 2024). [W2] [W3]
  6. 9 July 2025
    Secretary of State (decision signed by Laura Webster on behalf of Minister Matthew Pennycook) allows the appeal and grants outline permission with 49 conditions, finding the site 'grey belt'; inspector S R G Baird had recommended allowing it. [W1] [W2] [W15]
  7. 21 August 2025
    Foxglove and Global Action Plan launch a High Court challenge to the decision, with a CrowdJustice appeal; Leigh Day act as solicitors. [W5] [W14]
  8. 19 January 2026
    Government sends a letter conceding a 'serious logical error' (Leigh Day and Computer Weekly say 19 January; Global Action Plan says 20 January). [W7] [W8] [W13]
  9. 22 January 2026
    High Court permission hearing: Government concedes the permission should be quashed; Greystoke contests; claimants succeed on all grounds and the claim proceeds. [W6] [W7] [W9]
  10. 22 April 2026
    Foxglove announces the case outcome: Greystoke accepts that environmental mitigation must be made binding through a contract with the council. [W12] [W13]
  11. 29 April 2026
    CrowdJustice update 'Case win': the case is closed, the Government and Greystoke are required to pay the claimants' legal costs. [W14]

Politicians and organisations

  • Buckinghamshire Council (the local planning authority) refused the 2024 scheme and the earlier scheme
  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (claimants in the High Court challenge; solicitors Leigh Day)
  • Iver Heath Residents' Association (co-chair Leigh Tugwood; partnered with the NGOs and called for a moratorium on new data centres after the outcome)

Claims

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

  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (also repeated by DatacenterDynamics) (campaigners): The site would be a 90MW hyperscale data centre (MW not stated in the decision letter). [W5] [W15]
  • Greystoke (as reported by Foxglove) (developer): Greystoke says the data centre would use no water for cooling. [W5]
  • Foxglove (campaigners): Hyperscale data centres can use 4 to 19 million litres of water a day (largest UK water company's indication, quoted by Foxglove). [W5]
  • Secretary of State's decision letter, adopting the inspector's weighing of the appellants' evidence (other): Significant unmet need for data centre capacity in the Slough Availability Zone (1,730 to 2,858MW) and no alternative sites; substantial employment and economic benefits. [W2] [W15]
  • Foxglove and Global Action Plan (their account of the outcome; the agreement itself was not seen) (campaigners): Environmental mitigation measures must be legally binding; Greystoke accepted this in April 2026 via a contract with the council. [W12] [W13] [W14]

Campaigns

Sources

  1. [W1] Recovered appeal: Woodlands Park landfill site, land south of Slough Road, Iver (ref 3347353 - 9 July 2025). GOV.UK (MHCLG), 9 July 2025. Level 1 source.
  2. [W2] Decision letter and Inspector's Report, APP/N0410/W/24/3347353 (9 July 2025). MHCLG via GOV.UK, 9 July 2025. Level 1 source.
  3. [W3] Public inquiry: Woodlands Park Landfill Site, Land South of Slough Road, Iver. Buckinghamshire Council. Level 1 source.
  4. [W4] Recovered appeal: Woodlands Park Landfill Site (ref 3307420 - 30 October 2023). GOV.UK (DLUHC), 30 October 2023. Level 1 source.
  5. [W5] NEW CASE LAUNCH: Foxglove launches UK's first legal challenge against the construction of a hyperscale data centre. Foxglove, 21 August 2025. Level 6 source.
  6. [W6] Press release: UK Government admits 'serious error' in forcing through hyperscale data centre without environmental protections. Foxglove, 22 January 2026. Level 6 source.
  7. [W7] Government admits 'serious error' approving data centre. Leigh Day. Level 6 source.
  8. [W8] UK government 'blindly accepted' Iver datacentre environmental assurances, it is claimed. Computer Weekly. Level 5 source.
  9. [W9] Planning permission for Buckinghamshire data center likely to be quashed after UK Government admits 'serious logical error'. DatacenterDynamics. Level 5 source.
  10. [W10] Government concedes Buckinghamshire data centre judicial review: implications for data centres. Gowling WLG. Level 5 source.
  11. [W11] Government admits legal error over green belt data centre: implications. Stevens & Bolton. Level 5 source.
  12. [W12] Government concedes Woodlands data centre case! Environmental protections promised by new data centres must now be legally binding. Foxglove, 22 April 2026. Level 6 source.
  13. [W13] Landmark data centre case sets precedent for binding environmental protections. Global Action Plan, 23 April 2026. Level 6 source.
  14. [W14] Stop the Government forcing through Destructive Data Centres (case page and updates). CrowdJustice. Level 6 source.
  15. [W15] Angela Rayner greenlights twice-rejected Buckinghamshire data center. DatacenterDynamics. Level 5 source.
  16. [W16] The great datacentre backlash: The campaigners. Computer Weekly. Level 5 source.
  17. [W17] Planning applications: called-in decisions and recovered appeals (collection). GOV.UK (MHCLG). Level 1 source.
  18. [W18] Foxglove campaigns list. Foxglove. Level 6 source.
  19. [W19] Fifteen Jobs on Brick Lane: What Data Centres Owe Communities. SmarterArticles. Level 7 source.