Devon Protesters Challenge Xlinks' £13.8bn 1.5GW AI Datacentre in Unesco Biosphere
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 27
Devon Protesters Challenge Xlinks' £13.8bn 1.5GW AI Datacentre in Unesco Biosphere
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 27
Summary
30,000 people have signed a petition and protesters confronted Torridge district council this week over Xlinks’ plan for a 1.5GW AI datacentre and 1.8GW battery system near Great Torrington.
FoI disclosures intensified the backlash, showing closed talks with council officials since March 2025 and an April 2025 letter of in-principle support before any public consultation or environmental statement.
344 hectares have been secured for five buildings up to 130 feet tall, while campaigners say the battery scheme’s 1,720 units and possible 2.9 billion litres of annual water use threaten farmland, wildlife and a hosepipe-ban-hit region.
Xlinks says only a third of the site would be developed, the project would create 600 to 1,200 jobs, improve biodiversity by more than 10% and use a revised design with lower water needs.
The dispute is widening beyond Devon, with US anti-datacentre activists advising locals and critics arguing weak national rules on battery siting have created a regulatory "wild west" outside designated AI growth zones.