Labour Forces Through London Data Centre Amid Worst Drought in Decades

Andy Burnham’s government has approved a new data centre near London’s Brick Lane despite widespread local opposition, even as the city suffers its worst drought in decades.

Housing secretary Angela Rayner last week overturned a July 2025 decision by Tower Hamlets council to scrap the project at the Truman Brewery, which was proposed by Truman Estates and Zeloof LLP.

The 5,200sq metre data centre on Grey Eagle Street will use up to 5.2MW, the same amount of power as 15,000 homes, according to the Save Brick Lane campaign group. Its proximity to the City will allow high-frequency traders to shave milliseconds off their transaction times.

Projections for the project’s water consumption have not been released, but data centres typically use huge quantities to cool their servers. Even with cooling, the heat they emit can increase local temperatures, while the demands they place in the grid often increase infrastructure costs, leading to higher household bills.

Labour minister Matthew Pennycook said in a published decision that the development will go ahead after “an assessment of potential impacts… on groundwater levels”.

Thousands of people have signed a petition urging the government to scrap the project. After the Aspire-led council rejected the project, then-housing secretary Steve Reed took the decision out of the council’s hands in October 2025 so that the government would have final say.​

The developers also plan to build offices, a cinema, a supermarket and 44 homes, including six for social rent.

Save Brick Lane said the development “offers almost nothing to local stakeholders and the community” and “only a tiny amount of social and affordable housing”.

It added: “This development will threaten the livelihood of existing independent shops and businesses in Brick Lane.”

Around 100 new data centres are currently planned across the UK, according to researchers Barbour ABI. Critics warn that data centres are accelerating global warming and climate collapse.

London, along with around half of England, is experiencing its worst drought in decades. July was the first month since records began where no rainfall was recorded at a weather station in Kew Gardens.