UK Town Fights Equinox's $5B Data Center on Protected Green Belt
Residents of Potters Bar push back against Equinix's massive data center plans as UK loosens green belt protections.
Potters Bar, a small town near London, is becoming ground zero in a clash between Big Tech infrastructure and environmental preservation.
Equinix wants to build a $5 billion data center complex in the area. Problem: it sits on "green belt" land — the protected ring of farms, forests, and meadows encircling London that's existed for decades to prevent urban sprawl.
The UK government has been reclassifying green belt land to fast-track construction, creating an opening for massive projects like this one. Locals aren't having it.
Residents have organized to challenge the plans, arguing the development would destroy irreplaceable natural land surrounding the capital.
It's a fight playing out across the UK as data center demand — driven largely by AI workloads — collides with communities determined to protect what's left of their green spaces. The $5B price tag shows just how high the stakes are on both sides.