Greens call for temporary ban on new data centres

Zack Polanski has called for a freeze on the approval of new data centres in England because of concerns about the amount of water and energy they use.

The Green Party leader said the government should introduce stricter environmental rules and give communities more say on whether the centres are built in their area.

Data centres can use significant amounts of water to cool their systems, although there are no official figures on how much water they consume in the UK.

The government said a pause would lead to the UK losing investment and being dependent on overseas computing for sensitive data processing.

A spokesman said: "It would be a disaster for jobs and national security."

There are hundreds of data centres in the UK – with plans for many more.

Exact numbers are hard to find, but the BBC reported last year there were around 477.

Many are clustered around London and the south of England – areas which are officially in drought at the moment.