The appeal followed a decision by the local planning authority, Buckinghamshire Council, to refuse permission for the scheme. The Council had successfully contested a previous planning appeal in respect of an earlier iteration of the scheme on the appeal site, the appeal being dismissed in October 2023.

The decision makes a further statement in relation to the Government’s position regarding data centre development, following policy changes to the NPPF. In this regard the Secretary of State had previously granted permission for a 65,000sqm facility on a site nearby at Court Lane, Iver (in December 2024), and a further 84,000sqm facility on a site at Bedmond Road, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire (in April 2025). This appeal relating to the site at Woodlands, was the third of these three appeals relating to hyperscale data centres which the Secretary of State recovered for her own determination, following the accession of the Labour Government last July.

Following the grant of permission, the consented facility will comprise two separate data centre halls, providing up to 72,000 sqm (GEA) of accommodation. The data centre buildings include ancillary offices, internal plant and equipment and emergency back-up generators and associated fuel storage, while the development will also include sustainable drainage systems, ancillary infrastructure and a substation

A public inquiry was held for two weeks during December 2025 to consider the appeal, which the Council contested on various grounds. These included alleging landscape & visual harm and adverse impacts on the Green Belt. The Council further contested the appropriate weighting to attribute to need for data centre provision.

Whilst recognising that the proposed development would result in significant harm in landscape & visual terms, the Secretary of State concluded that despite the scale and bulk of the buildings, their visual impact would be highly localised.

In determining to grant permission the Secretary of State attributed significant weight to the need for data centre provision, the lack of available alternative sites, and the economic benefits which the scheme would deliver. She further attributed substantial weight to the employment (both direct and indirect) that the development would generate.

As regards the Green Belt location of the site, the Inspector had concluded that very special circumstances existed so as to justify the grant of planning permission. The Secretary of State departed from the conclusion of the Inspector in this regard, finding instead that the appeal site comprised ‘grey belt’ land, and that the appeal scheme should not be regarded as inappropriate development, such that it was not necessary to demonstrate ‘very special circumstances’ to justify the grant of permission.

Alexander Booth KC has acted for the successful promoter in each of the three planning appeals in respect of which the Secretary of State has granted permission for a hyperscale data centre in the Green Belt.

In this instance, he was instructed by Pegasus Planning, and appeared for the successful Appellants, Greystoke Land and Altrad UK Ltd.