High Wycombe, UK 소재 개조 영화 스튜디오 데이터 센터 프로젝트가 조건부 계획 허가를 받았습니다.
Wycombe Park Ltd's plans for a data center near High Wycombe, UK, have been recommended for approval by the Buckinghamshire Council Strategic Sites Committee. The site, located on land south of Wycombe Air Park, was originally proposed as an eight-stage film studio developed by Stage Fifty before the company collapsed in April 2024. Development was subsequently taken over by Wycombe Film Studios, now Wycombe Park Ltd, which shifted the project toward data center use after Buckinghamshire County Council determined that a film studio development was unlikely to progress given the changing commercial and funding landscape of the industry.
Buckinghamshire Council's Strategic Sites Committee has recommended approval of planning permission, subject to planning conditions and a legal agreement to secure travel plan monitoring, a speed survey, a traffic regulation order for speed limit reduction, and a damage-cost contribution to mitigate air pollution.
The committee determined that data center use would be "acceptable given the allocation of the site as a strategic employment area." It found that the site would not limit aviation operations at the nearby air park; would have no adverse impact on highway safety or local road operation; and would have an "acceptable" impact on neighboring amenities, with pollution issues including air quality, light, and noise "reasonably controlled by condition."
The proposed development covers 13 hectares (32 acres) and would include six large data halls, offices, landscaping, and supporting infrastructure.
An accompanying economic statement projected approximately 2,200 temporary local jobs during construction and 1,027 full-time local jobs during the operational phase. The council's recommendation, however, notes that the proposed operational workforce would be approximately 300 full-time equivalent positions. While acknowledging this falls short of what alternative employment uses on a strategic employment site might generate, the committee concluded the proposal would nonetheless provide employment and economic benefits across both construction and operational phases.
The committee also recognized data centers as important digital infrastructure supporting the broader economy.
The committee raised concerns about potential impacts on the nearby Chilterns National Landscape and surrounding countryside within the national landscape area, noting that policy requires development not adversely affect the area's natural beauty. While the committee found the development would not have a decidedly adverse effect, it determined that the scale, massing, and visual presence would not positively contribute to the character, appearance, and overall quality of the surrounding area.
The application will now be delegated to the Service Director of Planning and Environment, who will likely approve the development subject to the planning conditions and legal agreements outlined above.