Lockdown has seen plans for data centres explode, with the number of applications for new data centres during this period surpassing 2019 figures.

According to EG Radius Exchange figures, the number of data centre plans lodged since the government enforced lockdown on 23 March totals over 2.27m sq ft of space. 

This means that more data centre space was lodged in roughly three months than the whole of 2019, which saw over 2.05m sq ft of plans submitted.

In June alone, developers lodged plans for 2.2m sq ft across eight schemes. Also in June, the biggest scheme of the year was submitted in Slough for a circa 1m sq ft data centre, including over 64,000 sq ft of office retail and leisure space, and up to circa 103,000 sq ft of other development uses which could include 60 homes.

Slough has proved to be the hottest location, with four data centre plans mulled for the area totalling over 1.05m sq ft.

In total, 30 applications totalling over 2.63m sq ft were put in over the whole of 2020, 23 of which were made during lockdown.