Lined with its famed curry houses, 24-hour bagel shops and stores selling vintage jeans covered with anti-war slogans, London’s Brick Lane has long been considered a beloved cultural hotspot.
But now, a 5,200 square metre data centre could be built over one of the area’s most iconic buildings, the former Truman Brewery.
The 29-metre-tall facility is set to be used for high-speed trading in London’s nearby financial district, and aims to employ 20 full-time staff.
Over the past two years, campaigners across east London have protested against the proposal, citing concerns about the culture of the locale and the potential impact on housing and the environment.
Tower Hamlets Council rejected the plans in July last year, but the government has since stepped in and will now decide whether the development goes ahead. The full timeline for the build is currently unclear.
For many, the appeal of Brick Lane lies in its separation from the City’s financial district.
Rodrigo Hammond, 20, a photographer from south London, told The Independent: “When you walk through central London, all you see is high-end businesses and corporations. I feel like people come here to take a breather from the City.
“This place is made for humans, not machines.”
Harvey Watt, 27 and a production assistant, similarly suggested that a data centre does not fit in with the culture of Brick Lane: “This area has got so much history.
“This is a hub for fashion, music, and art – it’s a hub for creativity, it’s not a hub for data centres and AI tools.”
Tower Hamlets Green Party councillor, Mads Churchhouse, told The Independent she has concerns about the potential cultural impact on the area: “The application cites Brick Lane as an ideal location because it is a ‘fashionable area’.
“What developers fail to understand is Brick Lane is fashionable because of the diaspora communities that live here, because of the thriving culture created by people who come here with different, original ideas.
“These developers want to reap the benefits of a so-called ‘fashionable area’, while completely disregarding the people who made it fashionable.”
Tower Hamlets is currently experiencing a housing crisis, with more than 29,000 people on social housing waiting lists.
More than 50 per cent of children in the borough grow up in poverty, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, with the lack of affordable housing considered a contributing factor.
The planning documents highlight the part of the Truman Brewery site earmarked for demolition to make way for the new data centre is derelict, and established housing, businesses and Brick Lane Market will not be affected.
Separate plans by the same developer also include proposals for a retail space, offices, and 44 residential flats in the area.
However, speaking to The Independent, several residents said they felt the space should instead be used for more affordable housing, with campaign group Save Brick Lane estimating some 350 homes could be built in place of the data centre.
In line with the position of the local council, the mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman said it “beggars belief” that Brick Lane is even an option for the project. The Aspire Party politician described the attempt to invest in a data centre in a borough where more than 5,000 children are living in temporary accommodation as a “scandal”.
The company behind the Truman Brewery development did not respond to requests for comment.
Many have also warned how projects like these see more people “priced out” of the area.
Isaac Leyton, 20, said swathes of Tower Hamlets are already grappling with the effects of gentrification.
The clothes designer said: “This area is starting to get really expensive. Nowadays, the cost of housing is forcing people to move further out, further away — leaving places like this standing still in time.”
However, not everyone agrees. Dhananjoy Paul, 55, who works on Brick Lane, spoke of the importance of the UK’s technological advancements.
Mr Paul said: “The housing crisis is everywhere, every borough is facing it. But it’s not all about housing – we also need the younger generations to look toward the future; we need to be up-to-date with technology.”
Designated as “critical national infrastructure” by Sir Keir Starmer in 2024, the government has confirmed there are now more than 500 operational data centres in the UK.
Such large networks are designed to attract global investment, and provide the infrastructure needed for the UK to compete in the global “AI race”.
But, requiring vast amounts of electricity to run, Ofgem estimated 140 proposed new data centres in the UK could require 50GW of electricity – 5GW more than the country’s current peak demand.
Referencing the estimated 2,700 deaths which occurred during recent heatwaves, Cllr Churchhouse raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of the Brick Lane project: “We know just how badly data centres impact us – we just broke global climate records.
“Heat-related deaths will become an increasingly predictable outcome while we continue to prioritise developments like this, where the government is blatantly placing the interests of tech corporations over our people.”
Save Brick Lane estimated up to 15,000 homes could be powered by the energy needed to run the data centre.
The housing secretary is expected to announce a decision regarding the data centre by 17 August. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it would not comment while the process is ongoing.
