Developer DC01UK said the campus will involve a £3.75bn investment sustaining 500 jobs over the course of the construction programme.

It is the latest firm to advance plans for a major data centre complex following Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

DC01UK said the latest campus will be built at an 85-acre site adjacent to the A1 and M25, just east of South Mimms Services, When it becomes operational in 2029 it would be one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses.

Industry leaders have forecast demand for data centres is expected to rise by 53% with the increase in the use of AI, cloud computing, storage, and data-heavy services like video streaming.

The firm said the location was chosen as it is close to the Elstree substation for energy requirements as well as the UK’s national and international fibre optic routes.

South Mimms campus of three buildings

The government yesterday said that data centres would now be classed as Critical National Infrastructure putting them on the same footing as energy and water systems.

The new protections will boost business confidence in investing in data centres in the country, an industry which already generates an estimated £4.6bn in revenues a year.

Peter Kyle MP, Technology Secretary, said: “Data centres play an essential role in British society, housing some of our most important data from vital NHS records to sensitive financial information.

“To achieve this, we must make the sector resilient to the challenges of today – from heatwaves to cyber attacks – which is why only today we have announced we will class data centres as ‘Critical National Infrastructure’, on par with energy supply systems.”

Stephen Beard, Head of Data Centres at Knight Frank who is advising on the project, said: “Given the existing dearth of cloud supply against the backdrop of unprecedented demand and that of the immediate explosion of AI deployment, the requirements for suitable development sites that offer the necessary access to scalable power, internet connectivity and ultimately proximity to homes and businesses is becoming increasingly challenging.

“In the last decade, I have yet to see a site that can meet both the cloud needs of today whilst protecting the AI need of tomorrow, until now.”