A former brake factory site in northwest Wales could be redeveloped into a new data center campus.

First reported by NorthWalesLive, an application to Cyngor Gwynedd (Gwynedd Council) for a scoping opinion details plans for a "comprehensive redevelopment" to deliver a new data center campus at the site of the former Ferodo factory in Caernarfon.

The application would see the demolition of the existing buildings and the construction of data center buildings and substations.

Some documents refer to the project as the Bryn Coch Business Park. Site plans suggest up to five buildings are planned on the site, located along Caernarfon Road. Another document suggests the site could total 300,000 sqm (3.32 million sq ft).

The application was made by building consultant CarneySweeney on behalf of Gwelyfenai Limited. It’s unclear which developer or operator might be behind the plans.

The Ferodo Factory was founded in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, in 1962 and produced automotive components, particularly brake pads and linings. The factory was the site of the two-and-a-half-year industrial strike by the Transport and General Workers Union members of Friction Dynamics between 2001 and 2003.

Bluefield Caernarfon Ltd acquired the 40-acre site in 2008 after the plant’s closure, but plans for redevelopment never came to fruition. The site was at one point set to house a new ‘super prison’ but the government decided to develop a different site.

The 125,000 sq ft (11,610 sqm) building and site were put up for sale or lease late last year, with BA Commercial as brokers.

News of a potential data center development surfaced last year after a request for a screening opinion was filed.