AI growth zone announced for North East
The former Blyth Power Station and Cobalt Park in North Tyneside made the cut, although Teesworks in Redcar was not included in the government’s announcement amid an ongoing rift with BP over its plans for a clean energy hydrogen plant on the site.
The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology said that becoming AI growth zones will boost economic growth and create thousands of jobs for the region.
Blyth will be home to Renaissance Land’s 6m sq ft data centre, for which Quod submitted an application for phase one in August.
QTS will operate the £10bn scheme in Cambois, Northumberland, which was designed by Corgan.
Plans for Cobalt Park will involve OpenAI, owners of ChatGPT; Nvidia, an American chipmaker; and British technology firm Nscale, according to DSIT.
READ MORE: Govt looks to the North for AI growth zones
Details about this project are scant, but will involve ‘new AI infrastructure’, focused around computer chips, at various locations around the country.
Meanwhile, Teesworks in Redcar was not mentioned in the announcement, despite promising noises from that corner in recent days.
Rumours that Google is behind the 5m sq ft data centre proposed for the site have been swirling, and Mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen has himself been vocal about his support for the project.
A spokesperson for DSIT said it was working through more than 200 proposals, including Redcar, to identify the most promising.
Following the government’s invitation for bids to host one of five planned AI zones throughout the country, Teesworks submitted an application for the giant data centre campus to Middlesbrough Council in June.
However, plans for an energy-guzzling data centre clash with those for BP’s proposed HyGreen facility, a blue hydrogen and carbon capture plant that is also looking to set up camp at Teesworks, as the amount of power necessary to fuel mega data centres is at odds with the government’s green agenda.
Lichfields, which is the planning consultant for Teesworks, recently suggested there was “increasing uncertainty in [BP’s] commitment to and funding for the proposed development [H2 Teesside]”.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “I want kids in school here today to see their place in an AI-driven future. We know AI will be transformative for our economy, but this is how we make sure it also provides a new future for our young people, by working with business to create training and apprenticeship routes into this fast growing sector on a whole new scale.
“Our region boasts computing power that are among the best in Europe with Cobalt Park Data Centres already established in Wallsend and the QTS Cambois Data Centre Campus in Blyth due to open in 2028.
“We have the skills and brainpower in our tech sector and universities, and now we can match that with the new investment this Growth Zone will bring to the North East from around the world.”
Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “I am incredibly proud of the work the council has done to land the biggest investment that the UK has ever seen, and now this is unlocking even more opportunities through the AI Growth zone.”
North Tyneside Mayor Karen Clark said: “This investment opens the door to thousands of high-quality jobs for our residents.
“The data centre campus at Cobalt is a crucial site in the North East AI Growth Zone. As a local authority, we’re committed to unlocking its full potential, using our strong regional partnerships across government, business, and the education and skills sector.”
