A council chair has said he will ask police to intervene if abuse towards councillors and officers continues over a huge data centre planned for Torrington.
Cllr Doug Bushby (Ind, Bideford North) spoke at a Torridge District Council full meeting at Caddsdown Business Support Centre in Bideford on Monday evening. More than 100 people, waving banners and placards, gathered outside for a peaceful protest against the scheme, which would sit on 850 acres of farmland.
“We appreciate what an emotive subject the proposal to potentially site a significantly sized data centre in the area is,” Cllr Bushby said.
“It is entirely right to observe people’s freedom of speech, the ability and right to challenge and or protest at such a proposal. That is well recognised and supported, however, when language reaches certain thresholds and unfounded allegations, abuse, harassment and intimidation are made towards officers employed by Torridge District Council and elected councillors a different position has to be taken.”
He referred to abusive behaviour towards individuals on social media channels which “I cannot condone” and said this could fall into the category of “criminal activity".
“Should the abuse towards officers and or councillors of Torridge District Council continue and/ or escalate I will be making contact with Devon and Cornwall Police to seek their support and intervention to protect our officers and councillors,” he said.
He reiterated that the council had not received planning applications for either the data centre or the battery energy storage system (BESS) on the site, both of which are being led by Xlinks, the company behind the controversial project to transmit clean energy from Morocco to Britain through long distance subsea cables and connect to the national grid at Alverdiscott, which the government withdrew its backing for last year.
He said officers and councillors had specific rules and responsibilities and operated “with the best of intentions and within specific professional codes of conduct and within the boundaries of the council’s remit”.
“If and when planning applications are received they will be dealt with within the same legislative, professional and operational boundaries that exist for all planning applications and the opportunity to air comments and or objections will be available during the planning process,” said Cllr Bushby.
Public speakers June Jones and Ken White highlighted discussions which had taken place between Xlinks and the council "behind closed doors" a year before the plans became public following a Freedom of Information request.
Ms Jones said she feared the project, expected to be one of the largest AI data centres in Europe, had been scoped to form aspects of the new local plan.
On behalf of the Devon Data Centre and Bess Action Group Mr White said many people felt it was already a “fait accompli” suggesting that officers had supported the plans in principle in early discussions.
He pleaded with the council to show by their conduct that it was “not a done deal”.
Xlinks says that early layout drawings for its £13 billion data centre and BESS site, which included buildings as tall as Exeter Cathedral looming over Torrington, were now out of date.
It says it aims to build on a third of the 850 acres with much of the remaining space open to the public and used for measures to support nature and wildlife by creating habitats.
The new facility would create between 650 and 1,200 high quality, permanent jobs, as well as allowing the South West to benefit from the expansion of AI, says Xlinks.
But there are concerns that North Devon could lose its UNESCO Biosphere designation if the plan goes ahead.
The world leading environmental organisation has said that if built the data centre and BESS site would be factored into any decision to allow the area to maintain its classification.
The North Devon Biosphere is one of just seven in the UK, which are considered by UNESCO to be “at the forefront of the UK’s work to mitigate the effects of climate change, limit biodiversity loss and promote sustainable ways of living”.
Torridge councillor and cabinet member for rural affairs on Devon County Council Cheryl Cottle Hunkin (Torrington Rural) whose petition calling on the government for a moratorium on planning permission for data centres and battery energy storage sites collected nearly 30,000 signatures, said there was cross party support against the Xlinks scheme.
Council Chair Threatens Police Call Over £13bn AI Data Centre Abuse