CAMPAIGNERS against the giant AI data centre proposed at Great Torrington – believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe – have discovered that the developers behind the project created detailed plans for the site some 15 months before minimal information was made public.

A raft of documents obtained by the Devon Data and BESS Action Group under freedom of information rules show that Xlinks has corresponded and shared plans for the site with Torridge District Council since March 2025, despite telling the public and campaigners that many aspects of the project had yet to be decided.

But the company has defended its actions saying these were “preliminary site layouts intended to help explain the proposals at an earlier stage in the process” and were now “out of date”.

Proposals first emerged about an 850-acre AI data campus, together with associated battery storage, on farmland between Great Torrington, Huntshaw and Weare Giffard in June.

The Devon Data and BESS Action Group has been working with countryside charity Devon CPRE to fight the plans claiming that this industrial development will ruin valuable farmland and have a massive visual impact on the town and surrounding countryside.

Emily Clark from the Devon Data and BESS Action Group said: “In meetings to date, Xlinks has been very vague about the design of the Devon data centre – exactly where it would be sited, how the thousands of computers and millions of batteries would be cooled, and how much water would be needed, for instance – but these plans show that all of those issues have been fully thought through and were presented to Torridge District Council’s officers months ago.”

She said the papers showed the two largest 40-metre-high data halls (the height of Exeter Cathedral) to be sited on the rising slope above Great Torrington looming over the town and visible for miles around.

Steve Crowther, Chair of Devon CPRE, said the sheer scale of this plan “was monstrous” and the site proposed “utterly unsuitable for industrialisation at all, let alone over this huge area of productive, beautiful and ecology-rich Devon farmland”.

“We cannot let this happen, simply because it suits the convenience of a massive corporate investor,” he said.

More than 2,400 people have now signed the Devon CPR’s register of objectors.

But a spokesperson for Xlinks said the project team was working on the design for the campus which was “still at a relatively early stage”.

“It will be shared with residents and councils as soon as possible. We will also take into account feedback we receive as part of an extensive consultation before submitting planning applications.

“The plans referred to by Devon CPRE and the Devon Data Centre and BESS Action Group are out of date. They were preliminary site layouts intended to help explain the proposals at an earlier stage in the process. Therefore they will not form part of Xlinks’ planning applications for the Devon Data Campus.”

They added that the proposals represented “a major investment in the regional economy and will create between 650 and 1,200 high quality, permanent jobs, as well as allowing the South West to benefit from the expansion of AI.”

Xlinks says it will only 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, improving biodiversity by “at least 10 per cent”.

Separate planning applications will be submitted for the two different uses of the site – a full planning application for the battery storage facility and an outline planning application for the data centre.

Torridge District Council said the council had issued initial pre-application advice to Xlinks in respect of the proposed data centre in April 2025 and the BESS in November 2025 and associated meetings had been held with the applicant in line with the pre-application service.

“The council does not publicise pre-application submissions, nor does it consult with the public at this stage,” it said.

“Advice given at pre-application stage does not bind the future formal determination by the council on any subsequent planning application and routinely involves officers meeting with applicants, undertaking site visits, and the issuing of informal written advice at officer level.”

The pre-application advice included a caveat that “the final decision on any application can only be taken after the council has consulted local people, statutory consultees and any other interested parties” and “a final decision on an application will be made by senior officers or by the council’s planning committee and will be based on all the information available at that time.”

The council said it understood the level of community interest in these proposals and would be providing information on its website to explain the planning processes to be followed prior to, and post submission of, planning applications.

“It should, however, be noted that the current consultation is being led by Xlinks as the applicant, and any comments or concerns should be directed to them.

“The schemes are likely to continue to evolve throughout the pre-application stage and it is not until formal planning applications are submitted (expected to be at some point in 2027) that the council will undertake its own formal statutory consultation.”

An online petition to get the government to introduce an urgent moratorium on AI data centres and BESS outside AI growth zones has now been signed by over 11,000 people.

Instigated by Devon County Council’s cabinet member for rural affairs Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin (Torrington Rural) the petition calls for mandatory rural impact assessments and comprehensive investigation into financing of all proposals.

“We need 100,000 signatures to get it debated in parliament,” said the councillor.

“This is not just about Great Torrington it is about making sure that these data centres cannot just pop up anywhere in the UK, destroying some of out most treasured places and environments and devastating the wellbeing of rural communities.”

The petition can be found here: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/776949.