Google has got the green light for a data center campus at North Weald Airfield near Harlow, Essex, in the UK.

As reported by the BBC, the outline planning application was approved by the Epping Forest District Council on December 10.

Google plans to demolish the existing fire station blocks and will construct two data center buildings, offices, internal roads, and car parking.

The existing air traffic control tower – a Grade II listed building – will remain on site and in “community use.”

The buildings will span a total floorspace of 77,148 sqm (830,414 sq ft), of which 57,750 sqm (621,616 sq ft) will be data center space. The maximum height of the buildings is limited to 24m.

A 2,550 sqm (27,450 sq ft) substation will also be constructed.

The site will require an estimated 163MWW.

According to the application, the project could bring 780 jobs to the local area.

Google purchased the site – spanning 52-acres – in January 2024 at around £1.7m ($2.28m) per acre, bringing the total purchase price to £88.4m ($118.4m).

The land is part of the North Weald Airfield, which was formerly known as RAF North Weald, an air force base that housed a squadron of Hawker Hurricanes during World War II. The planes were deployed to Dunkirk and played an important role in the Battle of Britain.

Today, it operates as a commercial airfield for private pilots and training companies, and is home to helicopters from the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance and the National Police Air Service.

Google recently launched its data center in Hertfordshire in the UK, which it said at the time was part of a £5 billion ($6.81bn) investment in the UK over the next two years. The cloud and search company is also considering a campus in Teesside, an area that has been established as an AI Growth Zone by the UK government.