Plans for a data center and housing development on the site of the historic Truman Brewery in London’s Brick Lane have sparked an angry backlash from residents.

Plans for the site, a former brewery that currently houses a vintage market as well as pop-up shops, bars, and restaurants, were rejected by the local authority, Tower Hamlets Council, last year.

However, Truman Estates, which owns the land, has appealed the decision, and it has been called in by the UK’s Secretary of State for Housing, Steve Reed. This means the minister could overrule the local authority and give the project the go-ahead.

Truman Brewery data center details

The data center would be located at 47 Grey Eagle Street, with existing buildings demolished to make way for a 5,266 sqm (56,682 sq ft) facility that would be 29 meters (95 feet) in height.

In its original application letter, submitted in August 2024, planning consultants DP9, working on behalf of Truman Estates, said: “The vision for the site in the heart of Brick Lane is to deliver a data center which has broad market appeal and adaptability to demand which is designed and benchmarked against industry best practices and trends.”

Details of planned capacity for the data center, or how it would be powered, have not been specified. The site is close to London’s Docklands, home to the city’s financial district and one of the UK’s busiest data center markets.

The letter notes: “The design includes provision to provide a heat exchanger which would take waste heat rejected from the chillers and could be used to provide low-grade heating to a district network should one be developed.”

Elsewhere, the redevelopment includes provision for 44 homes, 11 of which would be classified as affordable housing, as well as offices, commercial units, and a microbrewery.

Founded in the 1600s by the Truman family, Truman Brewery was one of the largest breweries in the world by the end of the 19th century, but closed down in 1989. The site was purchased by textiles entrepreneur Ely Zeloof in 1995 for a reported fee of £10 million, and is now run by his sons. The redevelopment of the site is expected to cost £500 million ($673m).

The brewery site is already home to three colo data centers operated by Digital Realty, which acquired the interconnected LON1, LON2 and LON3 facilities on Hanbury Street when it purchased European data center operator Interxion in 2019.

A row is brewing - does a data center hold the key?

Given that the brewery site has been central to Brick Lane’s growth as one of London’s most vibrant areas for independent shops and restaurants, opposition to the redevelopment plan has, unsurprisingly, been substantial.

A petition calling on Reed to block the plan has amassed more than 1,200 signatures, with an open letter accompanying the petition stating: “Brick Lane is not an abstract development site. It is a living cultural, social, and economic ecosystem with deep historical significance and an internationally recognised identity.

“The proposed data center and wider Truman Brewery developments threaten to intensify environmental harms through increased energy consumption, heat output, and carbon emissions.”

The letter also cites the strain that would be put on local infrastructure by the scheme, and says it would “displace community uses in favour of developments that deliver minimal local benefit.”

An alternative plan for the site, commissioned by the council, says it could accommodate 350 homes, including 44 for social housing. Tower Hamlets reportedly has more than 28,000 families on the council housing waiting list.

The data center on the site may hold the key to swaying Reed’s decision, as the government has overruled local councils to approve digital infrastructure projects on several occasions since taking office in 2024. This is because it has prioritized boosting the UK’s data center sector as part of its plan to grow the economy.

Reed’s predecessor as secretary of state, Angela Rayner, gave the go-ahead to schemes in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, despite both being rejected by local planners.