They say they have faced a huge increase in noise pollution and extra traffic in the area
The data centre which dominates the area near Pencarn Avenue in Newport(Image: © SWNS)
Neighbours of a huge 65ft high data centre built next to their homes expressed fury – claiming it has decimated the countryside and slashed the value of their homes.
Locals say since construction began on the near 50 acre Vantage Data Center Campus they have faced a huge increase in noise pollution and extra traffic in the area.
The campus in Newport will include three data centres filled with computers used to run digital services, built to fulfil the increased demand for processing power caused by the rise of AI. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter.
But as more data centres are built across the UK, many residents living near the sites have raised concerns over the large amounts of water and electricity needed to fuel the centres.
And those living next to the site said the level of disruption was unacceptable and dubbed it a “monstrosity” that has destroyed the countryside.
Concern was first raised after the giant metal warehouse sprang up next to homes on an affluent Welsh street.
Local resident Lizzie Bailey told the BBC: “The data centre planned would be an environmental nightmare both for the wildlife and the local residents.
“This will be a temporary disruption with the construction but then a permanent disruption because of the diesel generators, the noises, the cooling fans, things like that.”
Across the UK, plans have been created to build as many as 100 more data centres in the next five years – most around London, with five planned in Greater Manchester, one in Scotland, and nine in Wales.
In the USA, where there are around 4,000 data centres, residents living nearby have complained of constant noise, increased electricity costs, and increased consumption of water.
Another Newport resident, a 79-year-old retired lecturer who has lived in the city for 50 years, expressed frustration over the rate at which new data centres are being constructed.
He said: “My concern is to do with the way in which we are being coerced into investing such a vast amount into something which might possibly be redundant before it’s completed.
“I feel that we are assuming that this is a tool that will do everything for us – and I think it’s like surrounding ourselves with lots of hammers, and everything becomes a nail.
“It becomes even more peculiar because you’re looking at a white box which consumes vast quantities of water, vast quantities of electricity, and you assume that somehow it’s going to be good for society. I’m not convinced.
“We have politicians who stand on the roof of it and tell us how good it will be for Newport – and I’d like to know in what way it will be good for Newport?
“I’m the least affected by it in this property – the people who are really suffering are the ones who are actually backing onto it. I’ve been here 51 years and watched this site go from fields to this.
“I’m not against change, if change is in aid of something, but I feel that a lot of what’s happening at the moment is that there is an awful lot of money in the hands of people who have very little intelligence and are looking desperately to make sure they have got a slice of whatever the current enthusiasm is – and the current enthusiasm is AI.”
Another local resident Amanda Young shared similar concerns and added: “It used to be a nice quiet area, but with more data centres coming in, we don’t know what they’re going to bring with them.”
She said her biggest concerns were “the noise, the visual impact and whether it will affect house prices” in her area.
A spokesperson for Vantage Data Center said that they were “committed to being a good neighbour”, and that they will “work closely with local authorities” to “manage construction activity, including traffic, noise and lighting” and incorporate “measures designed to protect the local environment”.
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