'A landscape too precious to be sacrificed': Broadcaster Jake Humphrey leads revolt against plans for one of UK's largest data centres next to his idyllic Norfolk village

By ANDREW YOUNG and RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT Published: 00:01, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 00:12, 21 July 2026 BBC presenter Jake Humphrey is leading a campaign against a giant data centre he fears could ruin his idyllic Norfolk village.  The 47-year-old, best known for hosting BBC Sport's coverage of Formula One, is furious at plans to build what would be one of the UK's largest data centres on countryside near the close-knit rural community of Keswick.  Norwich Apex Data Centre is set to be built on a 32-acre site which was once famed for its dazzling summer array of poppies and is close to the renowned Marston Marsh nature reserve. Mr Humphrey is one of more than 7,000 people who have signed a petition opposing the controversial plan amid fears it will ruin the area's rural character, create noise and traffic and disturb wildlife.  He remains unconvinced by assurances from the company behind the proposal that the two-storey centre's buildings will have full sound insulation, keeping noise to a minimum. The former CBBC presenter insisted he was not against all data centres, but believed the proposed one in Keswick was in the wrong place due to it being in an area of beautiful countryside. He told the Daily Mail: 'This landscape is precious because it is one of the last places where Norwich still arrives gently. Open fields, big Norfolk skies, old lanes, church towers, marshland, wildlife and history. 'It is rural, it is quiet, and it has an unspoilt character that has been shaped over time. That is why a data centre feels so TOTALLY out of place here. 'A huge, secure, power-hungry industrial facility does not belong beside marshes, river valleys, historic churches and rural homes. However it is dressed up in planning language, it would fundamentally change the feeling of this whole area. Norwich Apex Data Centre is set to be built on a 32-acre site which was once famed for its dazzling summer array of poppies and is close to the renowned Marston Marsh nature reserve Jake  Humphrey is one of more than 7,000 people who have signed a petition against the plans  Villagers in Keswick say they want to protect the area's rural character  'It would bring scale, noise, light, fencing, substations, generators, traffic and a sense of permanent industrialisation to south Norwich that is currently defined by openness, nature and history. And once that is gone, it is gone forever. 'You cannot tell future generations, ''We protected Norfolk'', if we allow this. This is not an argument against technology. It is an argument for putting things in the right place. A data centre may be necessary somewhere, but it is completely wrong here. This landscape is too rural, too historic, too sensitive and too precious to be sacrificed.' The father-of-two added: 'This is not me being anti-data centres. It is me being against putting one in totally the wrong place. 'If Norfolk needs digital infrastructure, then it should be planned strategically, holistically, not pushed into a sensitive, rural, edge-of-city landscape simply because a site is available. 'Surely the best sites are those with existing industrial character, powerful grid connections, fewer nearby homes, lower ecological sensitivity and less risk to valued landscapes. 'What should not happen is a cherished local landscape is chosen first, and then residents are asked afterwards to accept that the harm can somehow be 'mitigated'. Some places are too important to be mitigated away. This is one of them. 'If this goes through without serious challenge, it sends a message that Norfolk's countryside is available. It tells developers that if they describe something as 'critical infrastructure' or 'economic growth', then local landscapes, residents and wildlife will just be pushed aside. 'That should worry everyone in Norfolk. Because today it is our village. Tomorrow it will be another village, another marsh, another view, another community being told that the future has to come at the expense of the place they love. 'Once the precedent is set, it becomes harder to stop the next one. That is why people need to pay attention now.' Earlier this month, scores of villagers packed out a public meeting hosted by the developer at Keswick Reading Rooms in an attempt to explain its plans for the centre - which will employ up to 140 staff. The building is being proposed to be built on a triangle of land beside the A140 road between Ipswich and Norwich, opposite a large Tesco store. The area was originally given planning consent by South Norfolk Council to become a business park, and had vegetation cleared away and preparatory groundwork started before it suddenly stopped several years ago. No planning application has yet gone in to South Norfolk Council, although many residents fear that local opposition will be ignored and the project will eventually be waived through by the Government which is eager to increase the UK's data capacity to fuel the Artificial Intelligence revolution. Villagers fear it will represent a further over-development of the area as a giant sub-station feeding renewable energy from the massive Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm into the National Grid is currently being built in nearby Swardeston. Poppies growing in the field which is proposed to be the site of a new data centre at Keswick near Norwich  The first photo was taken in 2020. This is what the site looks like today as it is prepared for development   There are currently also plans to expand the sub-station with a Tesla battery farm, enabling power to be stored and released into the grid when it is not windy, so that homes can still be powered. But retired Slimming World manager Karen Gaul, 73, who lives in Keswick said: 'One of the reasons we came to live here nine years ago was the lovely woodland and the beautiful countryside. 'We have already got the monstrosity sub-station nearby. Having the battery storage site and the data centre on our doorsteps will just be too much. 'The field where they want to put the data centre was a whole mass of poppies during Covid and looked wonderful. People came from far and wide to see them and you could just walk around the field. 'We couldn't understand it when they got the go-ahead to put a business park there. We already have lots of vacant commercial premises in the area. You see pictures of data centres in other parts of the world, and they ruin the landscape. 'We probably live far enough away not to be affected by the noise, but I am really concerned about the extra traffic which will be created.' Mrs Gaul's husband, Chris, 70, a retired production manager, said: 'The roads around here are narrow and already struggling. The data centre will make things worse.' Another resident who only gave her name as Tracy, 60, said: 'The reason a lot of us moved here was the tranquillity, and the peace. The data centre is going to ruin all of that 'We already have light pollution, and the traffic in the area is a nightmare due to our roads being used as a rat run, and being unable to cope. The last thing we need is another major development. Nobody is happy about it.' Another villager, David, said: 'I am concerned about development anywhere. I can't see how data centres benefit anyone. They are intrusive on the landscape and intrusive for holding details about people. It is all for manipulation and control. 'The main argument is the amount of noise that there will be. I am worried there could be a constant hum for 24 hours every day, potentially at 90 decibels. These places also use a huge amount of water for cooling. I am worried it will make our water pressure drop. 'There is not a single plus about it, and I am certain that ordinary people will be left having no say in whether it goes ahead. 'A much better idea would be to build one under the sea, like they have done in China, so that they have no shortage of water to cool it.' Retired vet Monica Warmerdam, a Keswick parish councillor, said: 'The first we heard about the plans was when Apex contacted us a couple of weeks ago. I think the timing was suspicious, just at the beginning of summer holidays when a lot of people were going away. 'Apex originally got planning permission by the skin of their teeth to build offices on the site, and then during Covid they got consent for low-grade industry and storage on the land. For whatever reason, that all didn't happen and now we have these plans. 'I think it must be related to the sub-station down the road and the battery storage area which is going to guarantee them plentiful electricity. 'Apex is insisting that their data centre will not consume a huge amount of water because it will be a circulating cooling system so water gets re-used, and they have given assurances about noise levels, but they would say that. 'It is hard to know who to believe at the moment and where to get information from. As a parish council, we still have to discuss it, but I think South Norfolk Council is keen to see something done with the land. 'But speaking personally, it all seems a bit too much. It seems like there is one thing after another. This is a lovely area because it feels like the countryside, but I can still cycle into the city. I don't want to see its character altered. A data centre could go anywhere. It doesn't have to be so close to a village.' An aerial view of the site, which has not yet been submitted for planning approval  Retired mechanic George Greensides, 80, who lives close to the site, said: 'The developers sent me a letter saying it wouldn't make too much noise, but other people are saying it will make a lot of noise. 'The good thing is that they are talking about some road improvements in the area which will be an advantage.' Owen Lancaster, 29, who works as a roofer said: 'I am worried that it will destroy the marshes which are just a few minutes walk away. You get cows grazing there and I always see birds of prey like marsh harrier. 'It doesn't matter what they say. People will do stuff to line their pockets and I am worried that these plans will just be forced through.' But Tesco worker Elizabeth Fox, 41, who lives in a row of four terraced houses close to the proposed site said: 'I haven't actually got a problem with it. The company behind it has given us all sorts of assurances about noise, and the usage of water. 'At the end of the day, I just want the land used for something and proper drainage to be installed. Our homes got flooded last June because water just poured off the site during a monsoon, due to there no longer being vegetation there to soak it up. 'People are complaining about what it will look like, but we already have Tesco on the other side of the road.' Her neighbour Steve added: 'The people who are moaning most about it live a mile and a half away.' Norwich Apex said its site would 'support many of the digital services people use every day, including cloud computing, online banking, streaming services, healthcare systems and business operations.' The firm's website insists that the centre will create a large number of well-paid local jobs, and will become a piece of National Critical Infrastructure, helping to position Norwich as 'an emerging technology and innovation hub'. It will also have 'landscape and ecological enhancements' including new planting to mitigate noise and largely hide it from view.