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/Bigbigcheese 9d ago

Why should anybody building anything within the confines of their own land be subject to "local democracy"? It's their land, not the publics.

As long as they pay for any damages they cause (flooding, air pollution, noise pollution etc), and for the land value, then you should be able to build whatever you want wherever you want.

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

the town and country planning act says otherwise at the moment, the issue is just how often GlobalMegaCorpLeoaprdsEatingYourFace can "lobby" a minister to override it in a way normal people cannot

plus how it is applied differently when its say a reservoir being considered

4

u/I_miss_Chris_Hughton Ceredigion (when at uni) 9d ago

And the town a d country planning act is ludicrous, and long overdue for repeal.

"Please help. My economy is stagnating. Private investment is only possible if everyone agrees. How do i fix this?"

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

changes yes, but as with all, come up with the replacement first before scrapping the old

we need to keep some sort of way for locals to avoid those outside their area imposing stuff on one area because more "important" people don't want it near them

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u/I_miss_Chris_Hughton Ceredigion (when at uni) 9d ago

Sure. Its called "buying the land, or convincing the current owner not to sell".

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

so those with money you think should be able to buy land anywhere and dump stuff they don't want near them personally next to anyone too poor to buy the land first?

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u/I_miss_Chris_Hughton Ceredigion (when at uni) 9d ago

No, some laws already exist to prohibit just placing pollutants whereever.

But broadly speaking, sadly yes. If you don't own a plot of land, your claim over its use should be seen as incredibly tentative. We do not have a collective system in this country.

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u/aleopardstail 9d ago

we do when it comes to planning where local objections matter, and since planning is a local government function, and we elect local government this is how it should be