A leading property consultancy is advising farmers to consider what some might describe as a controversial method of diversification. Henry Mawhood, Senior Surveyor at Fisher German, is looking to debunk the myths around data centres and said it’s likely they will rapidly become a more common method of diversification for the future.

Interest in data centres is growing as the UK’s digital infrastructure expands, and rural land is increasingly being recognised as an essential part of their development.

A data centre is a physical facility that houses computer systems like servers, storage, and networking equipment that process, store, and manage data. They are essential for everything from saving a document on the cloud to online banking and processing AI and require systems which operate 24 hours a day without disruption.

However, data centres themselves attract a certain level of negativity and are often thought of as huge industrial buildings producing noise and pollution, which is actually not the case.  

They are also often associated with London and the South East, but in reality, they don’t need to be in close proximity to large cities. Above all, data centres rely on three criteria: access to power, access to fibre, and land availability in proximity to customers.

Significant volumes of power and data arrive from overseas, with power coming from the North Sea and fibre data cables coming from the USA via the Atlantic Ocean. This means that land situated close to where these lines meet UK soil is ideally placed to support new facilities. This includes areas along the west coast of England, spanning from Weston-Super-Mare to Cumbria, together with South Wales and the East Coast of Scotland, which already benefit from the existing infrastructure.

Planned nuclear sites will also result in cheaper energy, meaning that data centre operations will become more cost-efficient. This means that, while small data centres of around 10,000 sq ft already exist, they will become increasingly feasible.

For rural landowners whose sites combine sufficient power availability and resilient fibre connections in an accessible setting, this presents an opportunity with incredible potential. Meeting the three main criteria will make sites highly attractive to developers, and utilising even small parcels of land for smaller data centres could be an extremely lucrative method of diversification.  

While selling land is an option, leasing would enable landowners to retain ownership of their land while benefitting from a reliable, long-term income stream.

The practical impact of a data centre on farming operations is often far lower than assumed. They aren’t always vast warehouses, they do not produce pollution, they generate minimal noise and have very little footfall. Their only by-product is heat, which may alter the microclimate immediately around the building. While this may have an impact on some arable farming, there are many types of farms this would not affect, and a data centre could operate alongside.

The growing dependence on cloud storage and digital services means the demand for data centres shows no sign of slowing. What may seem an unconventional method of diversification is actually a practical opportunity to future-proof agri-businesses while supporting the UK’s digital infrastructure.