As data center industry booms, an English village becomes a battleground

The English village of Abbots Langley has become a flashpoint in a British battle over data centers. A developer’s plan to build a data center on a field across the road was rejected by local authorities amid fierce opposition from villagers. But it’s getting a second chance from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which is pursuing reforms to rev up economic growth following his Labour party’s July election victory. As the artificial intelligence boom fuels demand for cloud-based computing from server farms around the world, such projects are pitting business considerations, national priorities and local interests against each other.