Project reflects continued investor interest in edge-adjacent locations

A new 10 megawatt datacentre has been approved for development in Hemel Hempstead, adding to the UK’s expanding digital infrastructure footprint beyond London.

The facility, being delivered by UK commercial real estate investor Northtree Investment Management, will feature two data halls across a three-storey build, each offering 5MW of IT capacity. The total development will span up to 5,100 square metres with 3,055 sqm dedicated to data hall and plant space, along with supporting office areas, plant and power infrastructure.

The project reflects continued investor interest in edge-adjacent locations that offer proximity to London while supporting lower-latency, high-density workloads in key regional markets.

Hemel Hempstead is already home to several hyperscale and enterprise datacentres. NTT has operated in the area since acquiring UK provider Gyron in 2012 and Amazon also has infrastructure nearby.

The redevelopment highlights a growing trend among investors and operators to repurpose existing commercial and industrial sites into datacentres, addressing the urgent need for more digital infrastructure across the UK. As demand surges for cloud services, AI processing and edge computing, locations like Hemel Hempstead are becoming critical hubs due to their strategic proximity to London and robust connectivity.

Datacentre developments in edge-adjacent markets such as Hemel Hempstead help to alleviate pressure on London’s core facilities, while also reducing latency for end-users.

According to the Platform Markets Group Datacentre Landscape Report 2025 – 2028, the UK datacentre market size is projected to grow to £12.7 billion by 2032. Notably, the UK is expected to become a 2 gigawatt location for datacentres by the end of 2026, more than doubling current megawatt availability.

In May the government overruled local opposition to green light the development of a 96MW facility adjacent to the M25 in Hertfordshire.

There are currently thought to be more than 500 active datacentres operating in the UK.