Industrial development giant Panattoni is lodging plans to turn a former Sainsbury’s distribution depot in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, into a data centre, as the pandemic increases demand for digital infrastructure.
Panattoni has been in discussions with data centre designer and developer Pure DC on potentially occupying the 5.5ha site, which is next to the new Sky film studios.
Proposals for the data centre, submitted to Hertsmere Borough Council, include a three-storey office block, security kiosk, 10m-high substation and a standby generator.
The developer initially bought the depot in 2018 to speculatively develop a number of industrial and logistics facilities ranging from 35,000 sq ft to 130,000 sq ft. Sainsbury’s relocated to Northamptonshire in 2019.
Two adjoining warehouses collectively measuring 154,000 sq ft are already under construction, but Panattoni aims to demolish these as part of the redevelopment.
A further facility will not proceed with a pending planning application if the data centre is given the go-ahead. However, the site would retain a 36,000 sq ft building let to UK Power Networks, which is almost complete.
“Because much of the UK’s data is currently stored across a variety of European countries, these changes mean that there is now a need for sites in the UK to provide data storage buildings,” said planning consultant Turley on behalf of Panattoni and Pure DC.
It added that the location’s “easy access to a large multiplicity of international fibre providers” makes it particularly advantageous for data storage.
“Central London has reached capacity for data centres due to limits in local power supply,” architect Scott Brownrigg said in the scheme’s design and access statement.
It pointed out that London is the only place in the UK where a “large multiplicity of international fibre optic cables terminate”.
“As has become very evident over the last few months, increased capacity in the nation’s digital infrastructure is essential to the economy, particularly with the increased digital way of living and the likelihood of working from home becoming more normal,” it added.
The news comes a month after Panattoni gained consent to redevelop the 30-acre, former AkzoNobel paint factory in Slough into more than 700,000 sq ft of data centre or industrial space, as well as up to 1,000 homes.
The Sainsbury’s depot was a 242,000 sq ft building that occupied the northern part of the application site, which Panattoni demolished in July last year.
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