55,000 Petition Google to Drop Thurrock Data Center as UK Backlash Hits AI Buildout
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Nov 9
55,000 Petition Google to Drop Thurrock Data Center as UK Backlash Hits AI Buildout
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Nov 9
Summary
Nearly 55,000 people signed a petition delivered at Google’s London headquarters urging the company to abandon its planned Thurrock data center, where protesters rallied over habitat loss, pollution and the loss of a former raceway.
The opposition unites wildlife groups, digital-rights nonprofit Foxglove and a local motorcycle club, which say the project threatens endangered species and could generate up to 570,000 tonnes of emissions a year.
Google, which bought the site in 2023 and applied to build there last year, says the plan would deliver a net biodiversity gain, offset emissions with new renewable power and reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
Only 1 of roughly 1,000 public responses backed the project, and Thurrock Council is expected to rule on the initial application early next year before a second, more detailed planning process.
The dispute reflects a wider anti-data-center push across Europe and the UK, where governments want AI infrastructure but local campaigns are increasingly slowing or overturning projects.