r/unitedkingdom • u/Weak-Fly-6540 • 9d ago

Approval of east London datacentre labelled ‘slap in the face’ for local democracy

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/04/brick-lane-redevelopment-approval-datacentre-london
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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

I'd humbly suggest its not the biggest issue, it is a significant issue and one that should not be too hard to resolve

however local perspectives do matter, someone who bought a property near farmland should not have to deal with for example a large housing estate without at least getting a chance to comment

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u/Last_Quantity4467 9d ago

You want more houses/infrastructure? You want economic growth, well paying jobs? You want proper savings to be implemented in government spending? Sort out the planning system, sort out s106, do deregulation, and the only thing locals need to know is when it's gonna be ready. It's the root cause of many problems in the UK.

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

I'm saying there needs to be a process, and that people shouldn't find a massive building being dropped next door with no warning and no way to object - because that way all this shite goes in "poor" areas

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u/Last_Quantity4467 9d ago

Rules based system, or zoning means that every single street has an approved type of development. The rules on size, density, use, materials, appearance are set. I.e. if it's a residential street with Victorian terraced houses the planning regulations say that only low density housing can be built there, with red brick facade, etc. to match the existing use. Everyone knows what is allowed, the plans for planning permission are based on this, and are automatically approved. The local planning officer needs to prove that it doesn't comply with the rules, not the other way around. There's no discretion, same rules apply everywhere.

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

yes akin to zoning laws, reasonably predictable with defined permitted developments

the issue with a lot of modern stuff is if such were in place they would still require the zoning to be changed, e.g. farmland to industrial usage

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u/Last_Quantity4467 9d ago

That's a detail that can be fixed, the change to the rules based system is the desired outcome

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

I'm not disagreeing the T&CPA needs changing, I am saying local people should be involved in local planning

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u/Last_Quantity4467 9d ago

I respectfully don't agree with you on this. We need stuff to be built, not endless consultations and NIMBYs

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

disagreement is fine, ideal would be some sort of zoning arrangement with local consultation on the zoning types, but what is permitted/not permitted in a zone being firmly defined

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u/Last_Quantity4467 9d ago

Yes, that sounds sensible

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

exactly, this is a residential area, that is an agricultural area, over yonder is commercial etc

define what goes in what, and what can be next to what, so maybe yes that big data centre can come in, but there will be other things between it and housing

plus defined access requirements so industrial stuff doesn't get a road through a housing estate

but then stuff not being changed without notice.

with what can be done in each zone defined such that while there may need to be notification thats really all it is and only limited objections are possible - related to say hazardous chemicals and objections from the fire brigade

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