Leeds to host £43m data hub
LEEDS is to be home to a new £43m data centre set to be built on the former Yorkshire Chemicals site.
The investment by telecoms firm aql was welcomed by Leeds and Partners – formerly Marketing Leeds – as a boost for the region’s digital sector and the broader business communnity.
Dr Adam Beaumont, chief executive of aql, said the new facility, known as DC4, would help protect local internet traffic from problems at longstanding technical hubs in London.
“We’re on track to fill our existing sites by mid-2013, so the new DC4 site will allow expansion room to support the data growth from the IT, media and mobile sectors – including the huge demands which 4G mobile will place on the regions infrastructure,” he said.
The data centre will be part of a wider development on the site in Hunslet where it will share heat with surrounding businesses and homes.
Lurene Joseph, Leeds and Partners chief executive, said: “The data centre anchors the region’s digital sector, sending the strong message to national and international investors that they can have confidence in our infrastructure.
“Businesses in Leeds across a wide variety of sectors, from retail and fashion to medical technology and bio informatics, can utilise faster more reliable connections that are independent and protected of any problems in London.”
