Data centre could create 2,000 jobs
PLANS have been submitted by the world’s biggest bank to build a £300m data centre in a Yorkshire city.
HSBC wants to construct the 325,000 sq ft development at Vangarde business park in York.
The project is expected to generate up to 2,000 construction and fit out jobs – peaking at 500 on site at any one time – over the course of the expected two year building scheme.
HSBC has taken an option for the land at the Monks Cross site from Oakgate (Monks Cross). If planning consent is granted, HSBC will then make a final decision on the project next year.
It is understood that if it goes ahead, the data centre would represent the largest single inward investment to York in the city’s history and would generate £2m additional income in goods and services for the local economy.
Data centres are used as part of a bank’s information technology infrastructure, handling amongst other work, billions of pounds worth of transactions a day between individuals, companies and institutions.
When completed, the York site will be paired with another data centre in Yorkshire and will be the largest and most important HSBC data centre facility in the world – the other pairs are in Hong Kong, Chicago and Mexico City.
The data centre would initially employ up to 100 staff, including management, engineers, IT operations personnel and support staff. The building is also designed to accommodate future IT job creation.
Under HSBC’s plan, less than 25% of the 30 acre site would be built on, with the remainder used for improved ecological habitats and wildlife enhancement.
The proposals include the expansion and formation of ecological habitats to support and maintain species that already exist on the site. A full environmental statement has been prepared and will be submitted as part of the application.
Other sustainability issues being considered at the site include using 100% green tariff electricity, the potential use of an aquifer to provide renewable cooling and exporting waste heat to an adjacent public swimming pool.
York council leader Andrew Waller said the plan was a positive development for the city.
