Defending an appeal seeking to push through a huge data centre near Abbots Langley has cost £107k, as residents await the outcome.

On January 18, Three Rivers District Council's planning committee unanimously refused permission for the hyperscale project in a field alongside Bedmond Road and the M25.

Greystoke Land appealed the decision in June, before it was called in to be decided by Deputy PM Angela Rayner.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner will have the final say on the data centre appeal.Deputy PM Angela Rayner will have the final say on the data centre appeal. (Image: PA) The council defended its original decision, including during a six-day inquiry started on October 8, as the row attracted national attention.

The Daily Mail, Financial Times, and Telegraph spotlighted the village as a “flashpoint for Labour’s data centres push”.

A CGI showing how the buildings would look.A CGI showing how the buildings would look. (Image: Pegasus Group/Greystoke Land/Three Rivers District Council) At a council meeting yesterday evening (November 11), the final figure for how much it had to spend on consultants in order to make its case was revealed for the first time to be £107,000.

“We have done our very best for residents and I hope the planning inspector agrees with us,” said council leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst.

“It remains to be seen if the deputy prime minister will as she will finally decide.”