Green Party councillors on Leeds City Council, including Cllr Ed Carlisle (Hunslet & Riverside) and Matt Rogan (Beeston & Holbeck), have come out against the plans for Microsoft to build a hyperscale Data Centre at the former power station site at Skelton Grange and have issued the following statement:

Leeds Green Party councillors oppose the proposed data centre development at Skelton Grange and believe its approval is at odds with Leeds City Council’s declaration of a climate emergency and its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

The application received unanimous approval from the Plans Panel, with no substantial objections recorded in the published minutes. This decision was made without any Green councillors on the panel, only Labour and Conservative ones. We want to be clear that we would have strongly opposed the scheme had we been in a position to do so.

We recognise that development is not inherently bad and that society cannot stand still. However, data centres of this scale have been shown elsewhere to place significant demands on energy and water infrastructure, have substantial climate impacts, and can affect surrounding communities. We are deeply concerned that a development of this magnitude appears inconsistent with the council’s stated environmental ambitions.

The Green Party nationally have called for a review of data centres being categorised as having critical infrastructure status.

Residents have raised serious concerns about energy and water consumption, flood risk, heat generation and the impact on local communities. While planning approval now appears to have been granted and the council’s ability to reverse that decision is extremely limited, we will continue pushing for answers and for the highest possible environmental standards if the development proceeds.

We are also supporting Global Action Plan’s call for a moratorium on new data centres. The Skelton Grange decision highlights the need for a national conversation about whether developments of this scale are compatible with climate commitments, resource constraints and the interests of local communities.

If the project goes ahead, Microsoft must do more than simply minimise harm. We want to see meaningful investment in Leeds, exploration of opportunities such as connecting waste heat to the Leeds PIPES network, measures to improve local flood resilience, and an ongoing commitment to honest, accountable and transparent engagement with residents. Leeds deserves development that benefits communities and the climate, not projects that undermine the city’s own environmental ambitions.

This post is based on a press release issued by the Green Party in Leeds

 

While you’re here, can we ask a favour?

South Leeds Life is published by a not-for-profit social enterprise. We keep our costs as low as possible but we’ve been hit by increases in the print costs for our monthly newspaper which have doubled in the last two years.

Could you help support local community news by making a one off donation, or even better taking out a supporters subscription?

Donate here, or sign up for a subscription at bit.ly/SLLsubscribe