A planned 80MW data center outside Blackpool, UK, has been given the green light by the local council.

The data center will be built on a 20-acre plot at Peel Park, near the M55 motorway outside Blackpool. It is part of a larger 37-acre site that also features office buildings, some of which are leased to the UK government’s Department for Work and Pensions.

Fylde Council’s planning committee granted permission for the scheme at a meeting this week. It is being developed by property firm Elite UK REIT, which first revealed details of the site in October 2024.

Joshua Liaw, Elite UK REIT CEO, said: “With demand for artificial intelligence and cloud-based technologies continuing to grow, we are excited about the prospect of a proposed data center in Peel Park, Blackpool, in supporting regional economic development, inward investment, and the objectives of the nearby Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.”

The land where the data center will be built is currently vacant and used for car parking. Elite UK said the land “benefits from strategic connectivity and proximity to subsea fiber-optic infrastructure, positioning it as a key asset in meeting rising demand for secure, resilient data capacity driven by cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital services.”

Elite UK is installing a 120MVA power connection to the site, and had previously stated it intends to power the data center using renewable energy from nearby offshore windfarms, though it is not clear if any supply agreements are in place.

Construction timelines for the development have not been shared.

Blackpool is not a major data center market in the UK, though the local council is trying to attract more digital infrastructure companies to the area through its Silicon Sands initiative. A 6MW data center could be built at the Enterprise Zone, with the scheme having been recommended for approval last year.