The Small English Town Swept Up in the Global AI Arms Race
Save StorySave this storySave StorySave this storyA short drive from London, the town of Potters Bar is separated from the village of South Mimms by 85 acres of rolling farmland segmented by a scribble of hedgerows. In one of the fields, a lone oak serves as a rest stop along a public footpath. Lately, the tree has become a site of protest, too. A poster tied to its trunk reads: “NO TO DATA CENTRE.”In September 2024, a property developer applied for permission to build an industrial-scale data center—one of the largest in Europe—on the farmland. When locals caught wind, they started a Facebook group in hopes of blocking the project. More than 1,000 people signed up.The local government has so far dismissed the group’s complaints. In January 2025, it granted planning permission….
