Data Centres: The Costs, Casualties and Opportunities
Mon 16 Nov
|The Conduit
We ask what the rapid expansion of AI digital infrastructure means for communities and the environment, assessing the opportunity for a more responsible growth strategy in the UK.
Time & Location
16 Nov 2026, 18:30 – 19:45 GMT
The Conduit, 6 Langley St, London WC2H 9JA, UK
About the event
The UK has become Europe’s main hub for digital infrastructure. The Slough and west London corridor data centre hub, for example, is one of the largest in the world. In response to demand, and due to anxieties over AI sovereignty, the government has streamlined the planning process for data centres. They have been designated as critical national infrastructure, therefore overriding local council and community objections. All the while, the speed and scale of growth is placing significant strain on energy and water resources, communities and the environment.
Across the country, people are demonstrating against the AI server factories in their local areas. Grid capacity is limited, water is scarce with many areas still in drought, and there is insufficient transparency around the uses for data centres and the health, heat and noise risks they pose to communities.
As public awareness and government policy struggle to keep up with the pace…
Tickets
In-person
Sale ends
16 Nov, 11:00 GMT
£16.80
Livestream
Sale ends
16 Nov, 11:00 GMT
This ticket grants you access to the livestream event. Livestream Link will be emailed to you at least 24h prior the event.
£6.50
Total
£0.00