Google's first data centre in the UK has met with controversy, with local residents complaining it is ruining their lives, making them ill, causing pollution and damaging the environment.

Expected to be completed by 2025, the USD 1 billion project on the 33-acre Maxwell's Farm West site in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, has been hailed as a significant investment and a sign of the UK’s technology potential. 

However, members of the local community complain that the construction work is incredibly noisy and that the facility has ruined their view of what were previously fields, which were valued for their tranquility and natural beauty. Some residents say they are moving away from the area.

Additionally, there are concerns that the centre’s presence has negatively affected property values in the area. And some locals even said that the construction work could be making them ill, citing respiratory issues as a potential consequence.

Google has emphasised that the facility will be constructed in line with net-zero aims, and that it plans to use the significant heat generated by the data centre to warm homes and businesses in the local area - an initiative that raises questions about the overall environmental impact of large-scale data centres.

The controversy highlights some of the indirect environmental, health and other impacts of AI.