Pegasus Group assisted Greystoke in securing planning permission for a second hyperscale data centre within the Green Belt.
After the Secretary of State approved Abbots Langley in May 2025, they also approved a 72,000 sqm data centre at the former Woodlands Landfill site near Iver, within the M25.
The Secretary of State agreed that there is a need for the development and that no alternative sites can meet it. The site qualifies as “Grey Belt”, so the Green Belt inappropriateness test does not apply. The proposal carries substantial weight for direct and indirect employment, significant weight for need and lack of alternatives, moderate weight for education and employment opportunities, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity net gain, and limited weight for temporary employment.
The adverse landscape and visual effects weighed heavily against the proposal. However, the Secretary of State accepted that the visual impact would be highly localised. Having concluded that the proposal is not an inappropriate development in the Green Belt and is in line with paragraph 153 and footnote 55 of the Framework, the Secretary of State gave no weight to the harm to the Green Belt’s openness.
The reporting Inspector concluded that very special circumstances justified granting planning permission. However, the Secretary of State reached a different conclusion and found that the appeal site comprised ‘grey belt’ land.
The Secretary of State, therefore, allowed the appeal.
Alexander Booth KC of FTB Chambers led the Inquiry Team, which included Stephen Nicol (Economic Benefits), Ashley Collins (Need), Paul Harris (Landscape), and David Hutchison and James Willey (Planning).