Plans to build a £750m urban hyperscale data centre on a site next to the River Lea and A13 in East London have got the go-ahead from the London Borough of Newham.

The Bidder Street data centre project is being developed by Legal & General, digital infrastructure investor Goldacre, and data centre development partner sineQN.

It is expected to cost around £500m to build over a six-year construction and fit-out period. The project includes three connected buildings: a data centre, associated offices and high voltage substation along side a lower-rise pump house to capture and distribute heat to Newham homes.

The data centre site sits next to Barratt’s proposed Crown Wharf residential development presently in planning

The scheme will also provide significant environmental and public realm improvements along Bidder Street and connecting walkways along the Lower Lea Valley, from Canning Town to Stratford.

The proposed development will deliver 80 megawatts of IT power by early 2027, and has the flexibility to deliver all workloads, including AI, in a secure, sustainable location just over 500 metres from the London Internet Exchange (LINX).