Summary
- Kao Data is consulting until 24 September on plans for the former Frogmore Industrial Site at Park Royal.
- The proposed facility has a confirmed grid connection and would use closed-loop liquid cooling.
- Kao Data expects to submit the full planning application in late autumn or early winter, with an OPDC decision expected in 2027.
Kao Data has opened public consultation on plans to redevelop the former Frogmore Industrial Site at Park Royal in west London as a data centre with a dedicated electrical substation, closed-loop liquid cooling, and standby generation.
The consultation opened on 7 September and runs until 11:59pm on 24 September, with a public exhibition scheduled for 16 September. Kao Data expects to review feedback during early autumn before submitting its full planning application in late autumn or early winter.
The 4.7-acre Acton Lane site was acquired by the operator earlier this year. Kao Data has previously said it is targeting service availability in 2029, subject to planning and construction.
The planning process is being divided into separate applications. Demolition works were approved by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation in July, while a second application covering enabling works was submitted during the same month. The current consultation relates to the main data centre proposal.
Kao Data says the electricity-grid connection is already confirmed. That removes a significant development uncertainty before determination of the principal planning application in a London market where large power allocations are increasingly difficult to secure.
The proposal includes a dedicated substation connecting the site to the wider electricity network. Standby generators would provide resilience during grid outages and scheduled testing, with Kao Data planning to use hydrotreated vegetable oil rather than conventional fossil diesel.
The cooling system is designed around a closed water loop. Cooling water would be recirculated rather than continuously replaced, reducing routine water demand compared with systems that rely heavily on evaporative cooling.
Kao Data has not published a final annual water-consumption figure, and detailed performance will depend on the completed technical design. The operator says the proposed system is intended to avoid a material effect on local water pressure or supply.
The facility is also being designed so waste heat could be exported to a future local heat network. Kao Data has identified the proposed Old Oak Park Energy Network as a potential connection if the surrounding heat infrastructure becomes available.
Heat reuse remains dependent on more than a technically capable data centre. The local network, customer demand, temperature requirements, pipework, and commercial arrangements all have to be developed alongside the facility.
The Park Royal design has also been revised from an earlier, separate data centre proposal for the site. Kao Data says its scheme uses a lower and simpler building form and places greater distance between the facility and parts of the site boundary.
Construction logistics will form another part of the planning assessment. HGV traffic will rise temporarily during demolition and construction, with movements expected to use Acton Lane under a construction logistics plan.
Once operating, the facility is expected to generate less daily vehicle traffic than the industrial estate did when fully occupied. Data centres typically require relatively small permanent workforces compared with warehouses or manufacturing plants of similar physical size, although maintenance and specialist contractor traffic continues throughout operation.
Kao Data is also consulting on community facilities and local investment associated with the scheme, including potential workspace and community uses.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation will determine the application. Kao Data’s current programme anticipates a planning committee decision during 2027.
The confirmed power position and liquid-cooling design address two major technical questions early in the process. Planning consent, detailed engineering, construction logistics, and final commissioning still stand between the consultation-stage proposal and the targeted 2029 operating date.
