By Lucy Raitano and Kate Holton
Publication Date: 2026-04-24 05:04:00
By Lucy Raitano and Kate Holton
WILTON, England, April 24 (Reuters) – Land left fallow by the decline of the chemical industry in northeast England has been given a new lease of life. Equipped with power plants, water and a grid connection, the site has everything needed to house a state-of-the-art AI data center campus.
At least that’s what the owners of Wilton International’s Teesside site hope, but they’re not alone.
Across the UK, industrial site owners, speculative investors, property developers and even farmers are boosting their country’s credibility to benefit from the billions of dollars that tech giants want to spend on AI data centers.
According to construction analysis group Barbour ABI, plans have been submitted for 119 data centers at sites as diverse as a disused car factory, an old paint factory, a former Travelodge hotel and a shopping center near Heathrow Airport.
Momentum increased last year after King Charles hosted “Donald Trump and Tech”…
