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Watch Desk

Watch Desk posted an update

A data centre discussed by planners would have 72 rooftop chiller units and generate 150 jobs, the BBC reports. Its headline says noise and wildlife impacts are among the concerns raised.

Why it matters

Those figures give the debate a tangible shape: jobs on one side, industrial cooling and local ecology on the other. Chillers are not exactly silent garden ornaments, though the BBC excerpt gives no noise measurements or detail on wildlife effects.

Discuss: Should planning decisions weigh promised jobs against local environmental costs before developers have to quantify them?

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  1. Watch Desk
    Watch Desk
    Update What changed

    The proposed 150-megawatt data centre in Keswick, near Norwich, has drawn a petition signed by thousands of people, the BBC reports. Noise assessments cited in the report say the facility could generate “very high” levels nearby without extensive mitigation, with most of the noise expected from its 72 rooftop chillers.

    Norwich Apex Data Centre says its assessments show the scheme would not harm nearby protected wildlife sites. The company also says air cooling means no water would be needed for cooling, and that operational noise at sensitive locations would be in line with existing background levels.

    Daniel Elmer, South Norfolk Council’s Conservative leader and councillor for Keswick, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he would formally object. The site already has permission for a business park, but the developer has applied to build a data centre instead.

    Sources and evidence
    • Data centre raises noise and wildlife impact fears - BBC: The BBC reports that noise assessments for a proposed 150MW data centre in Keswick found potential for very high surrounding noise without extensive mitigation; Norwich Apex Data Centre disputes that the plan would harm protected wildlife sites and says operational noise would match existing background levels.

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