Vantage Bridgend campus (former Ford engine plant)
Vantage Data Centers
Bridgend County Borough Council's planning committee unanimously approved Vantage Data Centers' hybrid application (P/25/247/HYB) in October 2025, subject to 32 conditions. The consent gives full planning permission for the first data centre on the north-eastern part of the former Ford engine plant at Waterton, and outline permission for up to nine further data centres to be built over about 15 years. No power capacity figure is stated.
Key facts
- Operator / developer
- Vantage Data Centers
- Location
- Waterton Industrial Estate, Bridgend, CF31 3PJ, Wales, United Kingdom
- Status
- Approved
- Facility type
- Data centre
- AI relevance
- Not stated
- Construction jobs
- 1,500
- Permanent jobs
- 600
Power & grid
- Network operator
- National Grid
- Grid position
- Interim power solution for about 5 years; permanent National Grid connection expected late 2031; grid upgrades need separate Section 37 consent (officers report)
- Power
- No IT load, electrical demand or grid connection capacity has been published for this campus. The hybrid permission covers a first data centre building in full and up to ten buildings in outline.
- Backup fuel
- Diesel
- On-site generation
- 392 backup diesel generators proposed across the campus, for emergency and testing use. Total generator MW not stated.
Planning
- Planning route
- Local planning (TCPA)
- Planning reference
- P/25/247/HYB
- Planning decision
- Approved
- Decision date
- 2 October 2025
- Green belt
- No
- Land area
- 55 ha
- Recorded objections
- 3
- Recorded support
- 1
Benefits vs drawbacks
Benefits
Drawbacks
- 392 diesel backup generators; a prolonged grid outage could cause significant short-term NO2 exceedances (assessed as unlikely)Source
- Welsh Water reports limited local water network capacity; reinforcement modelling required by conditionSource
- Nearby roundabouts already over theoretical capacity; traffic re-assessment required at 50% build-outSource
Timeline
Bridgend County Borough Council Development Control Committee approved the hybrid application (P/25/247/HYB).
Source
Reality Score
Sources
- Officers' Report, application P/25/247/HYB, former Ford Engine Plant, Bridgend
Primary record · Bridgend County Borough Council · accessed 2026-08-12
- Development Control Committee agenda pack, 2 October 2025 (item 8, P/25/247/HYB)
Secondary source · Bridgend County Borough Council · 2025-10-02
- Data centre campus at former Ford engine plant approved
Secondary source · Oggy Bloggy Ogwr · 2025-10-06
Last verified
27 September 2026
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