Plans for a major £250m data centre in Salford have gathered pace as the council approved a planning application for the site, promises to be the latest in a run of boosts to the city’s tech scene.
Philip Kaye, co-founder of Manchester-based data centre firm Vespertec. With nearly 20 years’ experience in the industry as a champion for local tech growth, provided the following insights into what the announcement means for Greater Manchester, and the UK’s data centre industry.
“Greater Manchester has long been fertile ground for data centre companies to bloom. I’ve spent nearly two decades in the industry, watching Manchester slowly but surely grow into a fully mature hub for data centre technologies. I’ve never seen anything like the last 12 months, with growth in every direction and the eyes of the nation looking to places like Stockport and Salford for leadership on major digital infrastructure projects.
“Years of hard work from some of the country’s most visionary providers is now starting to bear fruit, and everywhere you look in Manchester, there’s a world-beating data centre project just around the corner: Kao broke ground on its new data centre in October, and recently the government announced plans to pilot a new heat reuse scheme in Stockport data centres.
“Gone are the days when areas like Greater Manchester were overlooked by the tech industry. We have the skills, the infrastructure, and an impressive track record with successful and innovative schemes. With local authorities now fully on board and in the know, nowhere is better placed to meet the skyrocketing demand for digital infrastructure and ensure that the future of the industry benefits everyone.”
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