Land: Data Centres
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cumulative loss of agricultural land resulting from data centre developments.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The expansion of AI infrastructure is critical to the UK's long-term economic growth, resilience, and global competitiveness. Government is working with industry to improve understanding of the demand for agricultural land.
National planning policy gives clear preference for development sited on brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land. Where development of agricultural land is necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.
The Land Use Framework included a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England while increasing resilience to climate change and protecting best and most versatile land.
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