Concerns about the amount of heat and noise a new data centre in Slough will give off were raised by councillors as it was given approval.

Plans for the new data centre on the former AkzoNobel site on Wexham Road were approved by Slough Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, July 24.

But councillor Harjinder Gahir – who said he lives some 200 metres from the site – raised concerns about ‘heavy noise’ from emergency generators and the heat the centre would give off.

He asked: “How many generators are they going to use? What sort of noise are they going to make? Is that going to be heavy noise?”

Councillor Gahir also asked what level of heat the data centre would give off in ‘a very residential area'. And councillor Dhruv Tomar asked about how the data centre would get sufficient water and electricity.

Council planning officers said that conditions would be put in place to keep noise at acceptable levels. And they said the Environment Agency would also assess the air quality before issuing an environmental permit.

Officers also said that the developer would be responsible for ensuring it can get enough water and electricity from Thames Water and the National Grid. They noted that Thames Water had not objected to the plans and underground cabling for the development was already in place.

Plans for the data centre had already been approved in 2020 as part of the broader redevelopment of the AkzoNobel site. The application considered by councillors was for details of its design and layout.