Business & Technology
Castleforge & Galaxy win consent for Redhill data expansion
Castleforge and Galaxy Data Centres have won planning consent to expand their Redhill data centre campus near London, including a new 15MW facility.
The project is part of a broader expansion at the campus, where the partners have already invested more than GBP £100 million. They now plan a further GBP £200 million investment, taking the gross project value to about GBP £500 million.
Site details
The approved scheme will add a two-storey data centre with four data halls and an office block on the existing 3.1-hectare Foxboro Business Park estate. The site sits just outside London, where operators and investors have been seeking land and power as available capacity tightens.
The development will support a local waste heat recovery initiative. Waste heat from the facility will be reused on site, and the design allows for future export to a neighbouring residential heat network.
Market pressure
The expansion comes as the London data centre market faces growing pressure on supply. London remains Europe’s largest data centre market and the world’s second largest after Northern Virginia. Vacancy has fallen sharply in recent years as demand for colocation space has risen.
Figures cited by the partners show colocation vacancy in London falling from 21.3% in the first quarter of 2021 to 7.4% by the fourth quarter of 2025. They also pointed to estimates showing 302MW of capacity in London’s pipeline, even as development constraints around the capital make new schemes harder to bring forward.
Demand for data centre space around London has been driven by growth in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and hybrid workloads. Operators have also sought sites with reliable power access and strong connectivity to established hubs such as Slough and Docklands.
The Redhill campus currently spans 11,800 square metres across three buildings and serves customers including Fortune 500 businesses in financial services, artificial intelligence and other sectors.
For Castleforge, the scheme adds to a portfolio focused on the built environment. For Galaxy, it reflects the growing role of specialist operators and advisers in a market where access to power, planning and operational expertise is becoming increasingly important. The borough council’s planning committee approved the application.
Executive view
Mike Adcock, Head of Investments, Castleforge, said the approval marked an important step for the project.
“Securing planning consent for our new development at Redhill is a major milestone in our plans to deliver high-quality, sustainable digital infrastructure to one of the world’s most important data centre markets.
Demand for capacity in and around London continues to outpace supply, and this consent enables us to bring forward the additional power and scale required to serve enterprise, hyperscale and edge customers. We are particularly proud of the project’s sustainability credentials, including the potential to export waste heat to local homes, which reflects our commitment to creating places that deliver lasting value for both customers and the surrounding community,” said Adcock.
Paul Leong, Chief Financial Officer and Partner, Galaxy Data Centres, said the approval was central to the partners’ plans for the site.
“This planning consent is a pivotal step in realising the long-term vision we set out when we acquired Redhill alongside Castleforge.
The new facility will significantly expand the capacity available to our customers and ensure Redhill is positioned to meet the evolving needs of edge, hyperscale and enterprise users. We are proud to be delivering a development that combines operational excellence with meaningful sustainability outcomes, and we look forward to bringing the project forward in close collaboration with the local community,” said Leong.
The project has been designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of Very Good and includes low- and zero-carbon technologies. Those features are likely to carry weight in a market where local authorities, communities and customers are paying closer attention to the environmental impact of data centre development.
Redhill’s appeal rests partly on its proximity to London without being in the most constrained central locations. With available land and power around core metropolitan areas under pressure, outer hubs and established campuses have become more attractive to investors looking to expand near major demand centres.
The approval gives Castleforge and Galaxy a route to increase capacity at a campus with operating buildings and existing customers, at a time when operators across Europe are competing for scarce development opportunities.
Jayden, 13 launched Jay’s Bakes from his home in Taunton Road in Bicester on Saturday, June 20.
His late nan, a keen baker herself, was the inspiration behind his passion, as well as time spent helping his uncle with his catering business.
Over the last 18 months he has honed his skills by preparing sweat treats every day after school.
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Determined to turn his hobby into something more, Jayden spent two and a half months researching requirements, gaining his Level 2 food hygiene certificate and officially registering his business, mostly without adult intervention.
After four days of preparation, the business officially launched.
Customers were treated to a wide selection of homemade goods, including M&M cookies, Kinder brownies, Biscoff cookies, Victoria sponge trays, lemon drizzle cups and viral ‘dot cakes’.
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His Kinder brownies proved particularly popular, and by the end of the day he had sold out of everything, taking £210.
Despite feeling “excited and a bit nervous” beforehand, Jayden said the opening was a success, with a strong turnout and positive feedback shared on social media.
His favourite moment came when he officially opened the shed by cutting the ribbon.
Supported by his mum, stepdad, grandparents and uncle, Jayden first began selling from a table in May before building and painting his now-signature blue cake shed.
He now plans to continue baking and selling regularly, bringing his creations to the local community.
Lidl has been given planning permission to build its ninth supermarket in Oxfordshire, despite concerns over flooding.
Aldi opened in Didcot in 2015 and has a supermarket at the Jubilee Way roundabout but shoppers in the town have had to wait over a decade for Lidl to follow.
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South Oxfordshire District Council has now backed plans by the German retailer for a new supermarket in Abingdon Road.
Former Didcot mayor Mocky Khan said: “This give the residents of Didcot more choice, especially when you consider the cost of living environment we have at the moment.
“The town is growing with more new homes being built, and with more growth it’s good to have a wide variety of supermarkets to fit all budgets,”
The plans for the new supermarket were first submitted in 2024.
Didcot Town Council previously objected to the scheme, on the grounds of a lack of flood risk mitigation measures, along with the county council who said there was “insufficient information”.
The town council noted there are “several flooding incidents in the area, especially when the Marsh Bridge water pumps fail”.
But in a report by planning officers granting permission to the supermarket, those issues have now been addressed by Lidl.
The officers said the proposals “largely accord” with the policies around planning, and more can be done to “break up” the car park with greenery.
Planning officers chose to let Lidl build the new supermarket subject to conditions.
They said in a report: “Balanced against this policy conflict is the fact that this is a previously developed site, which is currently in a dilapidated state.
“The proposals represent a significant improvement on the current underutilisation of the site and on its appearance.
“The National Planning Policy Framework and Local Plan set out significant support for the reuse of previously developed land.
“As stated in the applicant’s planning statement, there have been previous enquiries as to the redevelopment of the site that have not come to fruition.
“Given this, finding a viable use for the site is a clear benefit which I consider to be of substantial benefit.”
Thirty-four residents had objected to Lidl’s plans, highlighting concerns over extra traffic, there being no need for another supermarket in the town and there being more appropriate locations to build in their view.
Didcot already has an Aldi store just off Broadway and a Sainsbury’s, M&S Foodhall and Asda.
The nearest Lidl to the proposed site are in Lupton Road, Wallingford, and Marcham Road in Abingdon.
Three people wrote in to support the new Lidl, recognising the benefits of a discount food store and the further jobs it will create.
Lidl has said its proposals for a Didcot supermarket would deliver 40 full-time equivalent jobs as well as further employment during the construction phase.
No opening date was given by the retailer, while the developer is currently on site progressing with the enabling works.
A spokesman said: “We’ve seen demand for our affordable, high-quality products continue to rise in Oxfordshire, and we are committed to serving more communities in the area.
“Our new store will create around 40 new jobs and build on our continued growth.
“We’re excited to be a step closer to opening this store and thank everyone who has supported us on our journey so far.”
It also said the £12m investment would work with the 6,300 new homes allocated to be built, as per the local plan.
Dalcour Maclaren, a specialist in utilities and infrastructure, announced the news on June 22, following a detailed assessment of its operations, including governance, employee wellbeing, environmental impact, and social responsibility.
James Neil, CEO of Dalcour Maclaren, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Dalcour Maclaren.
“B Corp status gives us the official badge that recognises everything that matters most to us in our culture, our values, and how we make decisions for our people and our clients. We thrive on doing things differently at DM and B Corp absolutely endorses this.”
The certification means the company meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Dalcour Maclaren now joins more than 10,000 B Corps worldwide and over 2,600 in the UK, including well-known names such as The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, and The Big Issue.
Chris Turner, CEO of B Lab UK, said: “Welcoming Dalcour Maclaren to the B Corp community is hugely exciting. Its commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and will help spread the notion that success in business is as much about people and planet as it is profit.”
Dalcour Maclaren operates across the UK and Ireland, supporting major projects in energy, water, transport, and digital infrastructure. The company’s services include land, planning, environment, stakeholder engagement, and geospatial services.
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