‘We would have stayed clear’: Residents speak out over city’s data centre plans

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents on a new housing estate say they would not have moved there had they known a data centre could be built nearby.

They are among those opposing plans by Curtis Hall Ltd to develop the East Cardiff Park and Ride site in Cardiff.

The company submitted its application to Cardiff Council in January, prompting opposition from councillors, MSs, residents and activists, with several campaigns launched to stop the development.

Nearby is the new-build estate of Maple Fields, which was developed in partnership between the council and developer Wates Residential.

Nick Richards, 38, is one of the leading voices against the proposed data centre. He said there was “no chance” he would have moved to Maple Fields if he’d known about the data centre plans.

He told the LDRS: “I’ve got a view from my office and I can see down the street and when children come home from school and it’s still light out, they’re all playing out in the street – you don’t really see that elsewhere.

“Just knowing that just beyond where I can see them playing are going to be on-site gas turbines of industrial scale, spitting out all this stuff into the atmosphere and they’ll be breathing it – it’s ridiculous.”

Nick said he stood next to traffic lights on a nearby street to hand out fliers to cars to try and inform people about the date centre, which he said the community hadn’t been properly consulted about.

Through his others’ efforts, Nick said he was able to get an extra 1,000 objections submitted against the proposal.

At the time of writing, the application has attracted 1,588 objections and two letters of support.

Many councillors have tried to raise the issue of the data centre during full council meetings, either through written or oral questions.

However, a rule banning the discussion of live planning applications during full council meetings has shut these questions down.

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said local councillors are permitted to comment on live planning applications and can do so at planning committee meetings or make representations directly to the planning authority through the appropriate procedures.

In the doorway of a nearby house, Louise Mullins, 47, said: “We were told that there was going to be a link road [a bus-only link road is still included in the plans], that house prices would increase and that it was going to be a lovely little community.

“There was no mention of a data centre whatsoever.”

Again, Louise and her family were some of the earliest tenants of Maple Fields, before the application was submitted. However, she said: “If we had known anything about it, then we definitely would have stayed clear.”

She continued: “You can see the size of the one in Newport – it is huge and it’s a monstrosity.”

Louise has a dog and she’s concerned about the impact the data centre would have on her.

She said: “There’s going to be constant noise for her and she’s already sensitive as it is.”

Among the concerns people have raised about the plans, they point to the large amount of water and electricity needed to power data centres.

There are also concerns about the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Cardiff site if it’s given the go ahead, with the developer also seeking permission to build a gas power plant to get the data centre up and running.

It is feared this could be used for five years.

She continued: “If it’s not in a residential area, I’ve got nothing against the data centres.

“In the middle of nowhere, that’s absolutely fine and doesn’t make any difference to anyone. This one is too close to be positive.”

Another area of concern she talked about is the impact on people’s home prices. She added: “Where does [the data centre] leave people with mortgages? If you go into negative equity it’s a big problem for people.”

When asked if she would sell her house and move away from Maple Fields due to the data centre, she said: “I think we would to be honest, but I don’t think anyone would want to buy it.”

In September, the Welsh Government issued a holding directive for the application, which means that the council can only debate or refuse the plans while the ministers decide whether they should be the ultimate decision-makers.

The LDRS understands that a special planning committee has been called for November 12, 2026 to discuss the plans.

On the other side of the housing development, 23-year-old Harrison Wright, who has only lived at Maple Fields for three months, has signed a petition against the plans due to his concerns about the pollution it could bring.

He told the LDRS: “I just think the overall pollution of the air, the noise, that everything is just going to be really bad for anyone close to this estate.

“There’s so many families around here, it’s not going to be good for them – especially for young kids.”

While Harrison did not say that he would not have bought his house if he knew about the data centre, he believes that if he had known he would have given the decision “more of a thought”.

Sitting at his kitchen table, with the sounds of children playing in the next room, Mohamed Mydeen, 39, told the LDRS about his family’s future at Maple Fields.

Mohamed moved to the estate a year-and-a-half ago with the intention that he would “stay forever” on the estate.

He said: “If the data centre comes, it will spoil everything because I bought this house permanently to settle here.

“If the data centre comes here, it’ll be a nuisance for the neighbourhood and the children with noise pollution and everything.”

He said the impact on the children is his main concern.

Mohamed said that the developer “should find somewhere else” for the data centre where it won’t affect the neighbourhood.”

He continued: “Many people from all over the world find their new place here and then the data centre comes in – it’s not nice for us.”

Mohamed also said he would have looked somewhere else if he knew about the data centre plans and believes that house prices will fall because of it.

The developers behind the data centre plans in Cardiff argue that the scheme will bring investment to the area and create skilled jobs, adding that South Wales has a “major opportunity to become a leading centre for digital infrastructure and AI”.

This month the UK Government published a policy paper on data centres, titled ‘The Data Centre Covenant’, which argued the case for developing more data centres in the country.

In it, the Government states that they estimate the country will need 6 GW of AI data centre capacity by 2030, adding that having more capacity will “give us greater resilience, and more options to protect our national interests if global compute supply becomes constrained”.

The number of data centres across the UK has grown significantly in recent years as the increased use of AI increases the need for processing power.

In 2024, the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology estimated that Wales had the highest data centre capacity outside London in Great Britain at 154 MW capacity.

In another kitchen of a nearby house, Aaron Howell, 34, shared his concerns about the development.

While he admitted to not knowing the finer details of the plans, he said knew enough about the proposal to be against it.

He told the LDRS: “I don’t know much about it but I know I don’t want my kids raised around a lot of sound and I hear it’s quite deafening.”

Aaron said the site could be used for parks or other children’s amenities and expressed worry over the wildlife in the area.

He simply added that if it affects his children he’ll go against it.

This particular house is a council house provided by Cardiff Council and after touring a few others in the area, Aaron and his family chose this one because it was “perfect”.

Now, with the data centre reaching the final stages of the planning process, he “doesn’t know if it’s perfect” anymore.

A spokesperson for the developer Curtis Hall Ltd said: “South Wales has a major opportunity to become a leading centre for digital infrastructure and AI, attracting investment, creating skilled jobs and driving economic growth.

“This project will support the South Wales AI Growth Zone, building on the region’s access to renewable energy, workforce and opportunities to regenerate brownfield land.

“Specifically, the Cardiff East site has already been identified as a site suitable for industrial development, and has an existing planning permission in place for industrial, retail and logistics development.

“The project will also deliver significant local investment, including a new road bridge to improve connectivity for residents in Llanrumney, alongside construction and permanent skilled jobs, opportunities for local businesses and substantial ongoing business rates income for the council.”

Previously, the developer has denied claims that the planned data centre will cause excessive noise and air pollution, that could lead to potential health risks, to the area surrounding the site.

A spokesperson from real estate agents Allen & Harrison, who sold homes at Maple Fields, said: “We understand residents’ concerns regarding the proposed development of a data centre near Maple Fields and recognise the importance of ensuring homebuyers have access to clear and accurate information.

“All purchasers are advised to appoint their own independent legal representatives to undertake the conveyancing process, including relevant property searches.”