Data centre could heat pool at leisure complex in Huntington

Plans from Deep Green Technologies would see the data centre built at the York Stadium Leisure Complex in Huntington.

The company’s application stated that heat emitted as a by-product of the data centre’s operations would be channelled into the leisure centre, making the development highly sustainable.

Plans for the centre stated that it would be built within an acoustic enclosure at the eastern end of the car park at the north west of the complex.

The data centre will feature processing facilities designed to support the demand for online services such as cloud storage.

The location plan for a data centre proposed at the York Stadium Leisure Complex in Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross Drive, Huntington, York. Picture is from Deep Green Technologies/Google Maps/York Council's planning portal

The site would also feature chillers, air coolers and a back-up generator and it would be connected to the leisure centre via underground pipes and cables.

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The plans stated the use of heat from the development would significantly reduce the cost of running the leisure centre, ensuring its viability and long-term use.

The transfer of heat would also help with the cooling of the data centre’s computer systems, the application added.

The application stated: “Data centres are vital for businesses and have become increasingly significant as technology and demand evolves, however are known to generate significant amounts of heat waste.

“The proposals therefore will seek to harvest this excess heat and utilise it to serve the heating needs of the leisure centre.

“In the case of the proposed development, not only will energy consumption be reduced through heat transfer, but the current energy consumption of the existing leisure centre will also be reduced following the decreased need to draw energy from other sources.

“In this regard, the proposals provide benefit both to the development itself and also the existing building on site which is a significant advantage and true form of sustainable development.”