UK ministers had plenty of time for AI datacenter bosses, but none for environmental groups

The British government has been busy courting AI datacenter companies while apparently finding little time to speak to the people who will have to live next door to their enormous server farms.

That’s according to a report published Tuesday by campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, which found that 84 percent of the stakeholders ministers met with to discuss datacenters between July 2024 and June 2026 were businesses or private-sector trade associations. Environmental groups, by contrast, didn't get a single meeting with ministers or senior officials.

The findings raise questions about who gets a say in Britain's AI Growth Zones, which the government hopes will attract billions of pounds in investment by making it easier and cheaper to build the infrastructure needed to power its AI ambitions.

According to the report, titled Zoned Out, ministers met representatives from 137 different businesses during the two-year period, while permanent secretaries and directors general held no meetings with community groups about datacenters.

Local residents …