A nine-year-old girl has given a speech to Torridge District Council urging them to refuse plans for a giant AI data centre and battery energy storage site which would stretch across 850 acres of Torrington farmland near her home.

Demelza May who lives on a local farm said she was very worried and anxious about the proposal by Xlinks which would “change our home forever”.

She told a full council meeting on Monday night that she had attended nearly every protest outside the council offices in Caddsdown holding up signs.

“I want my future to look green and beautiful,” she said. “I want to be able to see dark skies and all the stars. I want there to be only birds humming and singing and trees rustling.

“You think it’s going to bring opportunities to the area, opportunities for what? The only people that will benefit are Xlinks.

“When I am older I want to be a farmer and maybe carry on my family’s businesses. There are lots of opportunities here, you just need to support local people and small businesses rather than an industry full of tech billionaires.”

She said although the government might be supportive of the scheme as people with big businesses said they wanted this, it was the councillors’ job to fight for local people, their homes, community and landscape.

“I want to make sure you do everything you can to protect our future and ensure this proposal does not go ahead. The decision you will be making will affect me and all the other children in this area for the rest of our lives.

“No children want this, or adults. I really want it to stop… Please do not choose for it to go ahead.”

Demelza’s comments received a round of applause with chair Doug Bushby (Ind, Bideford North) congratulating her for reading her script better than most adults would.

Xlinks, the company behind a plan to carry solar and wind generated electricity from Morocco to the UK via the world’s longest sea cable which was rejected following a change in direction from the government, intends to submit proposals for the 1.5 GW AI data centre, believed to the largest in Europe, and 1.8 GW BESS following a public consultation period.

The company says It is designed to be a long-term anchor for digital infrastructure in the south west, serving the growing national demand for AI compute capacity while providing a stable, large-scale offtake for clean energy.

The campus would represent capital investment of £12.2–13.8 billion and is estimated to make an annual economic contribution of around £3.3–3.6 billion, support 2,000–3,500 jobs during construction and 600–1,200 permanent operational roles once complete.

Xlinks has also promised a “community benefit package” for local residents and organisations, a skills and education programme as well as a commitment to local supply chains.

But there has been massive opposition to the scheme with opponents concerned about the impact on wildlife, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, water consumption and noise from the complex.

Freedom of Information requests revealed that Torridge officers gave “support in principle” to it during a pre application process, a year before the project was announced to the public.

Opponents claim that Xlinks has used this support to apply to the government to designate this part of North Devon an official AI growth zone.

Other speakers against it at the council meeting asked what independent, expert advice the council had in place to properly test the application which would cover an area “larger than Marsh Barton in Exeter”.

Matt Whittaker, vice chair of the Devon Data Centre and Bess Action Group demonstrated the sound from one BESS unit through a small speaker. He said there would be 1,720 resonating noisy BESS containers in the centre of the countryside.

“That relentless noise will carry out over many miles into your bedroom at night every day…. Good Friday, Christmas morning… every moment of every single day.”

A couple of fields away this would merge into one largest data centres yet to be built in the world, he said.

He said it was clear that the majority of councillors at Torridge were not aware that “support in principle” had been issued for the “gargantuan project” and asked those who did not support it to request it was rescinded until the full extent of the proposal was analysed and understood.

Torridge District Council has said that it followed procedure during the pre planning process, no formal applications had been submitted and the planning committee would determine any proposals that came forward.

XLinks defends plans

XLinks previously said: “Xlinks sought pre-application planning advice from Torridge District Council (TDC), which is normal practice.

“We submitted an application for inclusion in the Local Plan, which is normal practice. There are no ongoing discussions between Xlinks and TDC in relation to the Local Plan.

“As is usual practice for UK AI data centre developments, an application was made to the UK government for AI Growth Zone.

“Xlinks data centre plans, which it intends to submit to TDC next year, are limited to 1.5GW of AI compute capacity.

“The proposed site is 850 acres, of which we plan to develop approximately a third. The majority of the land will be either open to the public or used for planting and to support wildlife by creating new habitats.

Subject to planning consents, the campus will be designed to support the local environment, while bringing economic growth and creating 650 – 1,200 permanent, high-quality jobs.

“We are carrying out nature and wildlife surveys on site. We must legally improve biodiversity by at least 10 per cent, and plan to exceed this by some margin.

“The data campus will be developed sustainably and will be designed to substantially increase biodiversity in line with the goals of the North Devon Biosphere. We will consult relevant stakeholders and follow their advice to ensure the project has a positive impact on local wildlife and nature.

“Buildings will be sited to minimise visibility, through topography, landscaping and the existing treeline.

“Comprehensive assessments - including on noise, air quality, water, flooding and fire safety are being carried out as part of our Environmental Impact Assessment, and any mitigation required will be built into the design and secured through planning conditions.

“There will be community benefit associated with the project worth tens of millions of pounds, to include skills development to best position local people for the high quality jobs the campus will provide.

“The Devon data campus will play a significant role in making sure the UK’s fast-growing ‘growing tech sector’ has the computing capacity it needs to drive economic growth.

“We'll continue to listen and respond to feedback as the project develops. Xlinks will hold a series of public information days at various locations near the site before submitting planning applications.

“Before we hold public events, we are offering elected representatives the opportunity to have initial meetings with the project team to ensure we are providing all the information the community needs.

“This is normal practice when consulting on a development of this type. The site is mainly made up of low to moderate quality agricultural land, most of which is used for grazing a small number of cattle and sheep. Some areas have slopes which significantly limit agricultural use.

“The project’s assessment of the land shows the development would result in negligible loss of nationally significant agricultural resource.

“The data centre will use air cooling and a closed-loop water system - it will not need to extract water from local rivers, streams or boreholes.

“Aside from domestic amenities like toilets and catering facilities, our plans are for the site to be self-sufficient in water.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

“Water used by the data centre or the battery facility will not be discharged to watercourses.”