SDC M40 Campus 300MW Data Centre Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire UK

Status: Proposed / Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) DCO Consultation Stage   |   Location: Former landfill and mineral extraction site between M40 and A40 (Oxford Road), near Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, UK

Project Overview

The SDC M40 Campus is a flagship 300 MW hyperscale and AI-ready data center development in Buckinghamshire, strategically positioned between the M40 motorway and A40 near Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross and within the Slough Availability Zone (SAZ). Developed on a former landfill and mineral extraction site owned by Veolia, the project is planned as a major digital infrastructure campus comprising three multi-story 100 MW data center buildings supported by an integrated on-site energy centre. The 300 MW scale gives the development significant potential to support high-density AI, cloud and hyperscale workloads, while its location within the SAZ places it close to one of the UK's most established concentrations of data center and network infrastructure. A key element of the project is the dedicated energy centre, which is designed to provide additional power infrastructure and help reduce reliance on constrained local grid capacity. This approach is particularly relevant in the London data center market, where limited grid availability has become an important consideration for large-scale developments. The use of a previously developed landfill and mineral extraction site also enables the project to bring substantial digital infrastructure capacity onto land with an established industrial legacy. Its designation as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under the UK's Development Consent Order (DCO) framework reflects the strategic scale and importance of the proposed development. The master plan incorporates comprehensive landscaping and a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) commitment, integrating ecological considerations into the site's redevelopment. The three-building configuration provides a scalable platform for phased deployment, while the dedicated energy infrastructure is intended to support reliable operation as computing densities increase. By combining 300 MW of planned capacity, three 100 MW facilities, an integrated energy centre and a strategic SAZ location, the SDC M40 Campus is positioned to become a significant addition to the UK's hyperscale and AI infrastructure pipeline. The project also demonstrates how large data center developments can combine high-capacity computing infrastructure with brownfield regeneration, dedicated energy systems and environmental mitigation measures.

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