Hundreds of acres of farmland will be 'lost forever' to Devon data centre

The widely reported AI data centre and battery storage site proposal in Devon will 'change the community forever' says a farming family living near to the proposed site. Daisy Hiron-Snow, who's nine-year-old daughter, Demelza May, stood up during a Torridge District Council meeting and told council members to fight against the proposal, said hundreds of acres of working farmland would be lost for ever. The development is expected to be the largest of its kind in Europe, spanning across 850-acres of the North-Devon countryside. READ MORE: Nine-year-old aspiring farmer tells council to fight back against AI data centre proposal Xlinks, the developer, says it would deliver up to 1.5GW of AI-optimised compute capacity, create between 650-1200 new jobs and be worth up to £3.6 billion to the economy. However, Demelza, criticized these opportunities during her speech and said the only people who will benefit are Xlinks. Fields will be cut open for cable routes, says Ms Hiron-Snow, and the applicant proposes to bring transformers weighing up to 200 tonnes along lanes not fit to carry such size. Net-zero claims "The applicant claims 'near-zero' water use, yet its own worst-case figures show up to 2.9 billion litres a year, drawn in heatwaves and droughts when farms need it most," she said. Ms Hiron-Snow compares the proposed battery site to that of another one refused nearby. READ MORE: Petition calls to reject 4,700-acre solar and data centre development in West Norfolk Axminster BESS refused An Axminster BESS appeal for an 80MW battery energy storage system was dismissed after an Inspector found that contaminated firewater could threaten a principal aquifer supplying drinking water to nearby homes and farms. Although East Devon District Council had withdrawn its reasons for refusal and supported permission by the time the appeal was determined, the inspector nevertheless concluded that the evidence did not show the site could safely contain polluted firewater during the combination of a battery fire and a storm event. Ms Hiron-Snow says the battery site proposed by Xlinks holds 200 times the energy of the Axminster battery. North Devon AI data centre and battery storage site opposition protest She says it is also several times the size of the Moss Landing plant in California, the world's largest battery when built, whose fires sent toxic fallout over 27 miles. "We do not claim to know every consequence of a development on this scale," she said. "But the applicant's own documents published to date leave soil, water and drainage unexamined - and that alone should give every farmer in this valley pause for thought." "There are a lot of unanswered questions, and the farmers I have spoken to are concerned." Holiday lets compromised Farmers in the area with holiday lets may no longer be viable should their tourism income be compromised, or in some cases completely destroyed, Ms Hiron-Snow warned. Demelza told councillors: "There are lots of opportunities here, you just need to support local people and small businesses rather than an industry fooled by tech billionaires." READ MORE: Rural connectivity must benefit communities MPs told If national policy is that these infrastructure projects rank higher than farming in terms of contribution to our country, then Ms Hiron-Snow says it sends out an alarming message.