Planning consent has been granted for a new 15MW data centre development in Redhill, Surrey, that will also support a local waste heat recovery initiative.
The new development, at the Redhill Data Centre Campus near London, will include four data halls and represents a significant step forward for the joint venture behind the venture.
Real estate investor, Castleforge, in partnership with full-service data centre operator and advisory firm, Galaxy Data Centers invested £100m in the existing campus in December 2024.
The planning approval obtained from Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s planning committee sets the scene for the expansion of digital infrastructure capacity in the London market.
The scaling of the campus will see a further £200m investment into the campus with a gross project value of around £500m.
Mike Adcock, head of investments at Castleforge, said: “Securing planning consent for our new development at Redhill is a major milestone in our plans to deliver high-quality, sustainable digital infrastructure to one of the world’s most important data centre markets.
“Demand for capacity in and around London continues to outpace supply, and this consent enables us to bring forward the additional power and scale required to serve enterprise, hyperscale and edge customers. We are particularly proud of the project’s sustainability credentials, including the potential to export waste heat to local homes, which reflects our commitment to creating places that deliver lasting value for both customers and the surrounding community.”
Situated on the existing 3.1-hectare industrial estate at Foxboro Business Park, the consented project comprises a single two-storey data centre with four data halls and an accompanying office block.
The development has been designed to achieve a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating and incorporates a range of low and zero carbon technologies. Waste heat generated by the facility will be reused on site, and the design enables future export of waste heat to the neighbouring residential heat network, supporting the wider community’s transition to lower carbon energy.
The expansion follows surging demand for digital infrastructure across the London market, driven by advancements in AI, cloud computing and hybrid workloads. Demand for data continues to significantly outstrip current levels of power supply, with the difficulty of constructing new data centres around major metropolitan areas making established hubs increasingly attractive prospects for investment.
Paul Leong, chief financial officer and partner of Galaxy Data Centers, said: “This planning consent is a pivotal step in realising the long-term vision we set out when we acquired Redhill alongside Castleforge.
“The new facility will significantly expand the capacity available to our customers and ensure Redhill is positioned to meet the evolving needs of edge, hyperscale and enterprise users. We are proud to be delivering a development that combines operational excellence with meaningful sustainability outcomes, and we look forward to bringing the project forward in close collaboration with the local community.”
The Redhill campus currently spans 11,800 square metres across three buildings. London remains the largest and most dominant data centre market in Europe, and the second largest globally after Northern Virginia. According to CBRE, the European data centre market continues to demonstrate strong year-on-year growth, with significant development activity across Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris.
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