Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has intervened in controversial plans for a village and will make the final decision.
Three Rivers District Council refused permission earlier this year for a hyperscale data centre - the size of 12 football pitches - to be built in a field alongside Bedmond Road and the M25 in Abbots Langley.
An appeal was lodged with the planning inspectorate at the end of June and a planning inspector was initially set to decide on it after a six-day process starting October 8.
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Deputy PM Angela Rayner. (Image: PA)
It has now been confirmed that the decision will be going straight to Ms Rayner, the secretary of state for housing, communities, and local government, as she has ‘recovered’ the proposal and one other data centre plan.
This means the inspector will not be making a decision but instead will prepare a report and a recommendation. This will be forwarded to Ms Rayner, who is also deputy prime minister, who will make the final decision.
Labour's manifesto directly mentioned data centres, stating that the government will ensure its industrial strategy “removes planning barriers to data centres”.
How the proposed Abbots Langley data centre could look from above. (Image: Pegasus Group/Greystoke Land/Three Rivers District Council)
The appellant, Greystoke Land, has said that “the UK needs large data centres to support economic growth and digital leadership”.
In the appeal case statement, it claimed this need is “overwhelming”, “urgent”, and “of national importance”, adding that the proposal would make “an important contribution towards meeting that need”.
Three Rivers’ planning committee gave three reasons for refusal. Perhaps the most important was the site falling within green belt without being judged to meet the “very special circumstances” required to develop there.
A CGI showing how the buildings would look. (Image: Pegasus Group/Greystoke Land/Three Rivers District Council)
It would also fail to protect the natural environment due to its size, its report added, and would "result in significant demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the area and the natural environment".
In a speech this week, chancellor Rachel Reeves said she welcomed the decision to recover data centre plans and added that Ms Rayner had said she “will not hesitate to review an application where the potential gain for the regional and national economies warrant it”.
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