Data center park developer Tract is expanding into Europe, planning a large-scale campus in County Durham, UK.

The company has announced plans for the Durham Technology Park, a proposed data center campus located between South Hetton, Murton, and Easington Lane.

The company has launched a dedicated project website, saying the site could host up to seven data center buildings totaling 500MW and an on-site substation.

Tract is aiming to submit its planning application to the local council in December 2026.

“Our team has identified this site as one that is suitable for the development of a data center campus which will make a significant contribution to the UK’s objectives for increased data storage and management,” Tract said on the site. “The scale of the data center has been carefully selected to meet these objectives and deliver local economic benefits whilst ensuring a landscape-led approach to minimise the effects of the development.”

Tract noted the project would be located close to Hawthorn Pit substation, which is currently undergoing expansion through the construction of a new 400kV substation. That upgrade/expansion is part of the Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) project to import offshore wind energy.

The northeast of England isn’t traditionally one of the UK’s major data center hubs, though QTS is developing a large campus north of Newcastle around Blyth.

Colorado-based Tract was founded by former Cologix CEO Grant van Rooyen and describes itself as a company that acquires and develops ‘master-planned’ data center parks. The company aims to get sites zoned, powered, and shovel-ready for other companies to develop data centers on.

After launching in Nevada in 2023, Tract has plans for large-scale campuses across Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, and Utah. This is the firm’s first project outside the US.

Tract’s parent, Tract Capital, also owns a dedicated data center developer, known as Fleet DC, that will develop on land owned by Tract as well as other sites.