This site is written by me, Dennis Clarke.
I tend to question most things I am told, hear or read. Then, like a dog with a bone, I think about it, research it, and come to my own view.
For about the past ten years I have helped local residents with planning and environmental issues. I do not claim any expertise, and I had no interest in these subjects before that.
Data centres popped up suddenly. They were the new industrial revolution, essential for every community; billions were to be spent; we were told they had to happen and that we could not miss this opportunity.
I became interested because of all the hype. It sounded like money-induced panic, and I was drawn in.
Every day for some weeks a new worry would occur to me, and in my usual way I would investigate it. In most cases I found plenty of fluff but little, if any, reliable data. These developments were going ahead, yet there seemed to be little interest in the things that would normally be examined for a planning application of this kind, the things that are, or ought to be, looked at in an Environmental Impact Assessment.
Artificial intelligence is happening. Data centres are happening. Questions should be asked, because decisions are being made now with little information about the consequences. The industry would have us believe it was caught out by a sudden need for huge data centres. All I want is to ask the questions and get proper answers. It is the people affected by these projects who need to ask them, for themselves and for their families yet to come.
What began for me as an intellectual exercise has become something I want to share, in case it helps others understand the potential issues, so that there is less chance we rush into mistakes.
I hope nobody reads anything here as criticism of, or an accusation against, any person or organisation. That is not what this is about, and I apologise if anything I write causes upset. I hope this movement can progress in a way that does not put people at risk, either now or for generations to come.
I write in a personal capacity. Nothing on this site is written on behalf of any council or other body.
The site grew out of my paper “Beyond Planning Permission”. I wanted to make the paper’s questions usable by anyone: residents, community and town councils, environmental groups, elected members, and developers too.
How this site works
- Every factual claim links to its source.
- Where we draw our own inference, we label it.
- We correct mistakes openly, with the date.
- See Governance and funding for who is responsible for what.