CyrusOne has been given the green light to build a data center on the site of a former cereal manufacturing facility known as the ‘Honey Monster Factory’ in West London.

Ealing Council has granted permission for a new data center at the site on Bridge Road, Southall.

The land is currently vacant, but was formerly occupied by a factory built in 1936 by the Quaker Oats Company, where it manufactured Sugar Puffs, a popular breakfast cereal known for its Honey Monster mascot. The factory closed in 2016, with production of Sugar Puffs, now known as Honey Monster Puffs, moved to a factory in Yorkshire.

According to its website, CyrusOne intends to spend £1.5 billion ($2.02bn) on the data center, and will create a co-working space for local businesses, as well as public art installations, as part of the project. Precise specifications and a target opening date for the data center have not been revealed.

A spokesperson for CyrusOne said: “We’re pleased the committee has voted in favor, and we want to recognize the depth of engagement that has shaped these plans. Over the course of this process, we’ve worked closely with a wide variety of relevant local politicians, community leaders, businesses, residents, and community groups.

“We’ve also held public events to give residents the opportunity to directly understand the data center development, ask questions, and share their feedback. Local input has shaped the scheme, and continued community engagement will remain central to this project as it progresses.”

The spokesperson described the vote as “another positive milestone in bringing our Southall project to fruition.”

They added: “Long-term investments of this scale and ambition must go through several steps in the development and completion of the data center campus.

CyrusOne will continue to work diligently to make further progress and keep the local community updated.”

Jointly owned by private equity firms KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners, CyrusOne operates more than 50 data centers across the US and Europe.