Roundtable: Data centre design, power, and the growing need for public engagement
June 27, 2025
At UKREiiF 2025, we hosted an over-subscribed roundtable on data centres. We came to talk about power. We stayed to talk about public engagement.
Demand for data centres is continuing to grow. As a result, developers are increasingly looking at their portfolios and wondering which sites could serve as a data centre.
The benefits of flipping a site into a data centre are obvious. They are a high-value asset class. Construction is booming. And they have been called the “backbone” of the UK economy.
However, while they might resemble a logistics hub, for example, flipping a site into a data centre is far from straightforward. Data centre design is unique. Power demand. Planning requirements. Water use. Need for ventilation and cooling. Heat waste. It’s all different for data centres.
This was the theme of our roundtable at UKREiiF 2025: What are the challenges and pitfalls of flipping sites to ride the data centre boom? One thing caught me off guard. We expected power to dominate the conversation. And we did talk about it extensively. But we also discovered the importance of public perception and public engagement for these projects.
It’s important that infrastructure accommodate the tenants’ requirements and the facility is optimised for that strategy.
Read on to see what we and our guests from Echelon Data Centres, Prologis, GLP, Blackpool Council, Gensler, Savills, CBRE Investment Management, and BlackRock discussed.
Data centre design: Unique and ever-changing
After explaining the investment outlook from a US perspective, Tania Tsoneva from CBRE Investment Management explained the three current concerns for investors:
- Environmental impact
- Public noise
- How much of the current development pipeline will be sold
Each tenant has their own requirements, whether that’s their own data centre design or preferred cooling technologies, for example. That’s why developers need to build with a particular client in mind. James Halstead from BlackRock clarified that if they’re not doing this at the outset, they will eventually. Usually, that will happen by about 60 percent of the way through the project.
You’ve got to know who you’re building for so that the data halls, strategies, and infrastructure accommodate the tenants’ requirements and the facility is optimised for that strategy. As Eddie Kilbane from Echelon Data Centres emphasised, if you fail to meet client service level agreements in the data hall, you can face eye-watering fines and weeks of downtime.
But tenants’ requirements aren’t fixed. They need more capacity and bigger footprints. And cooling technologies are changing. As such, there is a need to modify existing buildings and designs and remain flexible where possible. Indeed, Madeleine Hilton from Gensler estimates that half of its work is changing the original data centre design.
Research suggests that the public has mixed views on data centres. Some oppose their development. Others are simply oblivious to the need for physical infrastructure to support their digital habits.
The shape of the UK market
In terms of where everyone sees the market heading, some expect to see more private cloud. Gensler is seeing more edge use in the US due to an increase in electric vehicles (EVs). We may see this in the UK in the future, with battery-electric vehicle sales growing 21.4 percent in 2024. There’s also the growing potential for data-heavy drones and driverless flight.
We are also seeing smaller data centres being located close to renewable energy sources. Tony Doyle from Blackpool Council explained how Silicon Sands offers low-carbon power through a confirmed 32 megavolt-amperes (MVA) primary substation, a 20 MVA on-site solar farm, and the potential to connect to 3.5 gigawatts of nearby offshore wind farms.
There is a lot of talk in the industry about AI and data centre design. We are waiting to see where the government’s AI Growth Zones will be and what impact they will have on the market. If the government is serious about AI, it needs to think carefully about the price of electricity compared to other parts of Europe.
There is a lot of talk in the industry about AI and data centre design. We are waiting to see where the government’s AI Growth Zones will be and what impact they will have on the market.
Grid connections reform and queue management
Luisa Mostarda from Savills explained the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) Connections Reform project and its impact on data centres. She expects the way the connections queue is being set up will be in the industry’s favour. Many battery storage facilities are expected to fall out of the queue. The government will also have the option to manually change the queue. It will be a high threshold, but it will be interesting to see if and how it exercises this power.
Ryan Gordon from Prologis emphasised that the industry needs confidence from NESO on connection dates, given the high level of investment in data centre developments.
Ethical data centre design and public engagement
The discussion about clean power started a continued focus on the public’s perception of data centres and the increasing need for effective public engagement for the rest of the session. Power remains a number one concern, but the idea of data centres as good corporate citizens is also front-of-mind.
Research suggests that the public has mixed views on data centres. Some people are oblivious to the need for physical infrastructure to support their digital habits. Some oppose their development. Others can see the benefits. We discuss this with Emma Fryer, director Public Policy Europe at CyrusOne, in our podcast episode on data centres and net zero communities. Gwyn Stubbings from GLP shared an example of a planning application that received very few objections and even a letter of support from a local residents’ association. Still, everyone agreed there is a growing need to educate and engage with local communities.
In Blackpool, the Solaris Centre will be used to show members of the public how the waste heat from data centres can provide heating to buildings.
Blackpool has a clear vision for net zero data centre design. Tony Doyle is conscious of the need to take data centres out of the ‘hidden infrastructure’ category and build up people’s understanding of them over time. For example, he plans to use one of Blackpool’s first eco buildings, the Solaris Centre, to show members of the public how the waste heat from data centres can provide heating to buildings.
The art deco conference centre is home to a small proof-of-concept computing system that’s powered by on-site solar and wind. It houses servers in a dielectric liquid that transfers the heat recaptured from the servers back into the building’s heating system. Students and other groups will be taught about its role in reducing bills, emissions, and reliance on the grid. This shows the potential impact of this technology on their lives, their community, and the UK.
This vision of ‘ethically powered data centre design’ sits alongside plans to boost the local economy, support local jobs, and keep young talent in the area. As Ryan Gordon pointed out, data centres are ongoing projects. They require ongoing maintenance, constant cleaning, consultants, and therefore create value far beyond the initial build and the people working there day-to-day.
An exciting future
Everyone was excited for the future of this industry. Clearly, it’s an industry that’s evolving all the time. If we met again in just a few months’ time, things would have moved on again. There would be new trends and challenges to unpick.
We also barely scratched the surface in terms of how the industry is innovating worldwide, from district heating to new cooling methods. I am grateful to everyone for their input into the discussion and look forward to continuing the conversation with them and the rest of the industry.
