Massive 46-Acre "Monstrosity" Looms Over Our Gardens, Blocking Sunlight and Filling the Air with Constant Noise

FAMILIES living in the shadow of a data centre have branded it a “monstrosity” after it blocked all sunlight from reaching their gardens.

Residents of Newport, South , say they are woken up every morning by loud bangs coming from the building.

Dale, who has lived at a property near the site with his wife for over 20 years, said “constant bangs” can be heard from 8am to 6pm – and even on Saturdays.

The data centre is yet to officially open with Dale saying he fears what the future will look like when the site opens fully.

He said: “They are there 8am every morning. There is continuous noise from machines and they don’t finish until 6pm.

“They don’t give us a break from it all. It has made my wife ill with worry.

“We have lost the sun. We used to see it setting behind our house and now it is hidden behind the site.”

He added: “Construction is supposed to end this year. We don’t know what it will all sound like when they have all the fans running when it opens.

“I made sure they put up a wooden fence in my garden for some privacy and they planted some trees. They clean our windows once a month but that’s it.

“We have monthly meetings with Vantage but they are going to stop after and what will happen then?

“It feels like Newport City Council just rubber stamped the whole thing without thinking about the people living here.”

Neighbour Amanda Young said families living on the street are concerned about being impacted.

She said: “It used to be a nice, quiet area but with more data centres coming in, we kind of don’t know what they’re going to bring with them.

“My biggest concern is the noise, the visual impact and whether it will affect house prices. Whichever window you look out, you can see it. “When you’re sitting in the lounge, you can actually see it there.”

A 79-year-old neighbour, who lives in a cottage across the street, said he used to be surrounded by agricultural land before the industrial unit was built.

He said: “I have been here 51 years. There used to be cows in the garden and I could see to Cardiff from here.

“I don’t think that it will all get used once it is built. I think everybody is throwing at AI and nobody has stopped to think what is the long term future of it.

“Is it really going to help the people of Newport? Is it really going to stop rough sleeping or benefit people here?”

The number of data centres across the UK is on the rise following a boom in the use of – and the UK government says they are critical national infrastructure.

Concerns have been raised about the resources needed to power the centres – including electricity, grid capacity and water.

It comes after campaigners have blasted plans for a data centre campus at a Park & Ride site in Llanrumney, Cardiff.

A spokesman for Vantage Data Center said they were “committed to being a good neighbour.”

They said they “work closely with local authorities to manage construction activity, including traffic, noise and lighting” as well as incorporating “measures designed to protect the local environment”.

Newport City Council said it worked to “ensure that the impacts are considered acceptable in terms of biodiversity, light, noise and construction traffic” when considering planning applications.

A Welsh government spokesman said: “Any proposed data centre development remains subject to the existing planning system and environmental regulation, with robust checks and balances in place to ensure that environmental and community impacts are properly considered before consent is granted.

“Investment in data centres has the potential to create new economic opportunities and support skilled , while strengthening ‘ attractiveness as a leading destination for advanced digital investment.”