UK — The Register

UK ministers had plenty of time for AI datacenter bosses, but none for environmental groups

PolicyOctober 27, 20262 min read

A UK campaign group says the government met mostly with AI datacenter companies while environmental groups and local residents got almost no say. The report looks at the planned AI Growth Zones, where big server farms may be built.

What happened

A campaign group called Spotlight on Corruption published a report called Zoned Out. It looked at who UK ministers met about AI datacenters from July 2024 to June 2026. Most of the people they met were from businesses. Environmental groups got no meetings at all.

Key numbers

84 percent of stakeholders ministers met were businesses or private-sector trade groups.
Ministers met representatives from 137 different businesses in the two years.
Ministers met only two community groups, and both came after the decisions were already made.
Half of the 10 local councils and devolved governments affected by the five zones had no contact with ministers or senior officials beyond their applications.
Spotlight found 38 former ministers and senior civil servants who took jobs with AI companies from July 2024 to September 2026. Nine of them used to work at DSIT, the government department for science and technology.

What are AI Growth Zones?

AI Growth Zones are special areas where the government wants to build the power and computer systems needed for AI. The government hopes they will bring in billions of pounds. They offer developers faster planning decisions and better access to electricity. Datacenters are huge buildings full of computers, and they use a lot of power and water.

Why it matters

People who live near these buildings could be affected by electricity supply, water use, and other changes. The report says they had little chance to speak before decisions were made. The government is also considering letting important datacenters skip the queue for grid connections, which could put them ahead of homes waiting for power. Critics say this makes it harder for the public to have a fair say.

What to watch

Whether the government holds a national public consultation on AI Growth Zones.
Whether the rules let datacenters jump the electricity grid connection queue.
Whether environmental groups are added to the AI Energy Council.
How often the Sustainability Working Group meets and what it decides.

Glossary

Spotlight on Corruption: A campaign group that wrote the report about government meetings with AI datacenter companies.
AI Growth Zones: Special UK areas where the government wants to make it easier and cheaper to build AI computing infrastructure.
datacenter: A large building full of computer servers that run internet and AI services. It uses a lot of electricity and water.
DSIT: The UK government department for science, innovation and technology, which works on AI and tech policy.
AI Energy Council: A government group with tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services, which discusses AI and energy.
grid connection queue: The waiting line for projects that want to connect to the national electricity network.

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