00:00At the moment, these fields outside Southfleet are being used to grow fruit.
00:05But by 2030, they could be home to one of the largest data centres in the UK.
00:12Proposals from developer Clearstone could see 145 hectares turned into a massive AI campus
00:20with a £3 billion price tag.
00:24But local opposition is fierce.
00:26A petition against the plans has received 1,300 signatures.
00:31We should not be taking away our best and most versatile greenbelt land,
00:36which is actually meant for agricultural use, for feeding our nation.
00:41You know, Kent is supposed to be the Garden of England,
00:44but it looks to me it's going to become the data centre and the solar farm of England.
00:49The site is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project.
00:54That means approval will come from the government rather than the local planning authority.
01:01Developer Clearstone do say the project is still early days
01:05and that consultations will run through this autumn and 2027 to get input from locals
01:12who are anxious their village life could change forever.
01:16They're going to take a huge amount of water from the area and I don't know where they think that's
01:23going to come from.
01:24You know, all you see on the TV at the moment is we've got food shortages coming up because of
01:28the drought
01:28and now we're proposing to build over farmland that's actually in use and does grow food.
01:33Clearstone says the site will create hundreds of jobs during construction as well as when it's operational,
01:41with 55 hectares being designated for biodiversity enhancement and public use.
01:49But as Kent's drought continues, resource concerns over the proposals aren't going anywhere.
01:56or the leader in Southfleet.
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