A data center could be built as part of a housing development on a former colliery site in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Property developer Harworth Group wants to build the data center on the land that used to house the Rufford Colliery, located near the village of Rainworth.

According to an outline planning application submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council, the site would also accommodate 400 new homes.

Drawings included as part of the proposal show a single data center building, accompanied by a new electrical substation and a battery storage facility on the perimeter of the land.

Though a target capacity for the data center has not been specified, the developer said it would cost £100 million ($134m) to build, and support 250 jobs over a six-year construction period. Once up and running, the facility would support 162 jobs.

The first mine shaft at Rufford Colliery was sunk in 1911, and it closed down in 1993. A waste incinerator had been proposed for the land, but this plan was rejected in 2011, and the site has remained vacant.

Harworth Group is not heavily involved in the data center sector, but announced in 2024 that it had sold 48 acres of land outside Leeds, UK, to Microsoft for £106.6m ($134.83m). Comprising two separate plots on a site known as Skelton Grange, the land will be used for data centers by the hyperscaler.