Written Question·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·UIN 118193
Data Centres: Planning Permission
Tabled: 5 March 2026
Answered: 13 March 2026
Question
Sir James Cleverly
Conservative — Braintree
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the planning use class is of a data centre; and whether change of use planning permission is required for an office to become a data centre.
Answer
Matthew PennycookWhat use class any given proposal for a data centre will fall into will depend on the individual circumstances of the case.An application for planning permission will generally be needed in order to change use of an office to a data centre.