Plans for a 60-hectare data centre in Little Bollington have prompted concerns from local residents about the green belt, noise and wildlife. Innova says it is carrying out technical assessments and will return with a second public consultation later this year.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
More than 100 people attended a consultation at High Legh Village Hall on Wednesday evening about the proposed Spodegreen Data Centre, according to the BBC. The site, owned by the Tatton Estate, would sit near Lymm Road, the M56 and the A556.
Residents raised concerns about the scale of the development and its possible effects on homes, businesses and wildlife. Innova said feedback focused on water, noise, landscape, drainage and green belt issues. The company says technical assessments, including work on noise, water use and energy demand, are under way. It plans to share how the proposal has changed after consultation and environmental assessments.
Why it matters
A data centre is computing infrastructure, but the local questions are decidedly physical: how much land it occupies, what it means for the surrounding environment, and what demands it places on local resources. The BBC’s account does not establish what workloads the proposed centre would serve, so it should not be treated as an announced AI project.
For people living nearby, the details that could shape the debate are still being assessed. Innova says the project could bring jobs, improved local connectivity and money for a Community Benefit Fund. Those are company-stated expected benefits; residents’ concerns and the outstanding technical work make the next consultation an important test of how the proposal develops.
Our read
The useful question is not whether data centres are good or bad in the abstract. It is what this one would mean for this site, and whether the evidence on water, energy, noise and the landscape answers residents’ concerns. The next round should bring more than a polished mock-up and a list of promises. Green-belt arguments tend to become rather less theoretical when the proposed footprint is 60 hectares.
What to watch
- The findings of Innova’s assessments of water use, energy demand, noise and environmental effects.
- How the proposal changes after feedback from the first consultation.
- When the second in-person consultation takes place and what information is made available to residents.
Discussion spark: If a data centre promises jobs and local investment but would occupy green-belt land, what evidence should residents need before deciding whether the trade-off is worth it?
Sources and evidence
- Residents' fears over 'monster' data centre (1 October 2026, 16:44 UTC)
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