‘People are standing up and fighting back’: the north Devon revolt against a vast AI datacentre — SkimNews
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- Xlinks plans a 1.5GW AI datacentre and 1.8GW battery storage system involving 1,720 containerised units on 344 hectares of north Devon countryside in a UNESCO biosphere; the BESS alone would dwarf Britain's largest operational facility, the 100MW Bramley plant.
- Torridge district council issued an 'in-principle support' letter to Xlinks in April 2025 — before any environmental statement, public consultation, or formal proposal — and says pre-application discussions are standard confidential practice.
- Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, Devon county council's cabinet member for rural affairs, launched a petition demanding the government pause all datacentre and BESS plans outside designated AI growth zones; 30,000 people have signed nationally.
- US activist Elizabeth Humphreys, whose group Not in My Valley helped secure a permanent datacentre ban in Coachella, California, hosted a Great Torrington meeting and told residents: 'We're fighting the largest companies that have ever existed in the world.'
- The campus could consume 2.9bn litres of water annually under extreme drought, per FoI-released documents; Xlinks says that figure reflects a superseded design, and north Devon remains under a hosepipe ban after the hottest summer on record.
- The Devon Datacentre and BESS action group used US activist tactics — including those championed by Erin Brockovich — to file freedom-of-information requests, uncovering email exchanges spanning 18 months that campaigners say show officers treating the project as a 'foregone conclusion.'
Why it matters: The UK government says it needs 23-27GW of battery capacity by 2030 but holds no data on land use, location policy, or current operational capacity, leaving Devon residents to fight a 1.8GW proposal in a UNESCO biosphere without a national siting framework.
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