ace‘People are standing up and fighting back’: the north Devon revolt against a vast AI datacentre
The datacentre revolt spreading across the US has reached the rolling hills of north Devon in an uprising against a planned hyperscale AI data campus in the middle of a globally protected landscape. Perched on an inland cliff, the town of Great Torrington has views that stretch for miles over the landscape of the Unesco biosphere reserve in which it sits, taking in the winding River Torridge and rolling acres of wooded valley and wildflower meadows. Pastoral and peaceful, its history was notably punctured by vio…
Residents and campaigners say a proposed 1.5GW AI datacentre and 1.8GW battery site would industrialise protected farmland, strain scarce water and was advanced in confidence before any public consultation.
The planning application had not yet been made, and the developer says the water estimate came from a superseded design, so the campaigners' water figures and risk claims are not final measured outcomes.
Evidence
- JournalismThe Guardian2026-09-27
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Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-1555, v1: “‘People are standing up and fighting back’: the north Devon revolt against a vast AI datacentre.” Truvace, 2026-10-16. /record/TRV-2026-1555 (accessed at citation time). sha256 9dd0a73c5a6ddba1…
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