Company defends 'very disturbing' expansion plans

A director at a high-security data centre has defended the company's plans for expansion after residents described them as "very disturbing".

Rob Silvester, chief revenue officer at Ark Data Centres, spoke about the company's plans to build a data centre on land next to the former MOD Corsham.

Last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that residents opposed plans, saying it would disrupt their sleep and cause them mental strain.

"Nobody likes change, but we are at the forefront of a new age where change is necessary," said Mr Silvester. "What we've tried to do is be as sensitive as we possibly can given that it's an industrial development."

The company – where every employee has government security clearance – provides data services to telecoms firms, banks, and video streaming services.

A group of residents from the nearby Wadswick Green retirement village have described the plans as "very disturbing" and causing "quite a lot of distress".

Mr Silvester said exponential public demand for cloud services and AI had led to the growth of the data centre industry.

One concern by local residents was the lights coming from the site, with some claiming it is like "looking on an airport terminal".

James Smith, who also works at Ark, said: "We mended our lighting strategy at the beginning of this year, so all lights at night time are switched off unless they're needed for emergency or maintenance purposes. There is no light on the site at night."

The firm added that advances in cooling fan technology meant there had been no increase in background noise from the site since 2016.

The company said it hopes Wiltshire Council will start to deliberate the planning application in August.

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