Communities surrounding Corsham are coming together to oppose proposals for an enormous new data centre development. Ark Data Centres Ltd, already operating four facilities on the former MOD Corsham site and planning a fifth, now seeks permission to build a sixth facility on an 18-acre parcel known locally as Donkey Field, located near the villages of Westwells and Neston.
Unlike previous developments within secure MOD boundaries, this proposed data centre would be situated “outside the wire,” on land rich with historical and environmental significance. Donkey Field once served as a wartime labour camp for Polish and Lithuanian refugees and later, in the mid-20th century, housed donkeys. Today, it is cherished by local cyclists and dog-walkers, featuring wildflower meadows dotted with teasels and ragwort, and intersected by public footpaths.
Locals argue that the planning documents’ photographs—taken shortly after vegetation was cleared and treated with heavy weedkiller—paint a misleading picture of the site’s current natural beauty.
READ MORE: Farm Shop Appeal Moves to Planning Inspector After Council Rejection
READ MORE: Lando Norris Celebrates Emotional Victory with Mum After Winning British Grand Prix
The proposed facility’s scale is formidable: towering up to 18 metres (60 feet) tall and stretching nearly 180 metres (almost 600 feet) in length—roughly the span of two football pitches. The nearest house would be just 50 metres (165 feet) away, raising concerns about its proximity.
In response, residents of Westwells, Neston, and the adjacent Wadswick Green retirement community have formed the Neston Westwells Action Group (NWAG). NWAG has compiled over 800 formal objections, aiming to surpass 1,000 by the July 7 consultation deadline, and has created its own CGI visuals to demonstrate the data centre’s visual impact.
Key issues raised by NWAG include:
-
Visual intrusion: Residents fear the towering industrial complex will spoil the rural character of their homes. Wadswick Green occupants, living on the site of the former HMS Royal Arthur Naval College—where Prince Philip once trained—worry about overshadowing by the data centre.
-
Environmental damage: Donkey Field supports five bat species, some rare, and the construction would destroy important biodiversity and public amenity spaces.
-
Noise pollution: Cooling the servers requires large 3.7-metre (12-foot) high fans. Existing data centre fans emit a persistent low hum, audible to residents; the new centre’s fans would further increase cumulative noise levels.
-
Flood risks: The site lies above abandoned Victorian-era quarries, historically used as ammunition depots and later as Cold War government and royal family shelters. These underground tunnels now form part of the existing data storage and water runoff system. Heavy rainfall frequently floods nearby streets through manholes, and Donkey Field itself has been so waterlogged residents could kayak across it.
Residents are encouraged to submit objections to Wiltshire Council referencing application PL/2024/05527. The date for formal debate by the council has yet to be announced.
Ark Data Centres has not yet provided a comment on the plans.