Data Centres

Park Royal Residents Demand Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring as Site is Cleared for Twelfth Local Data Centre

Community members and local councillors gather outside the proposed data centre site, 17 July 2026 (photo by: Pull the Plug)

Residents of the Wesley Estate gathered outside the Frogmore Industrial Estate, Acton Lane, NW10 on Friday 17 July evening to demand independent air quality monitoring before demolition begins on 21 July. The protest was attended by councillors from both boroughs: Blerina Hashani (North Acton, Labour), Amandine Alexander (Harlesden and Kensal Green, Green) and Suzanne Gallagher (Kilburn, Green), alongside members of Ealing Friends of the Earth, Parents for Future, and Pull the Plug. Fourteen Green councillors across Ealing and Brent, including Cllr Marijn van de Geer (North Acton), have also written formally to OPDC objecting to the demolition.

The Frogmore site is earmarked for a new data centre by Kao Data. Park Royal already has approximately ten operational data centres, with a further facility approved on Premier Park Road according to local news site actonw3.com [1], making Kao Data's proposal the twelfth in the Park Royal and North Acton cluster.

Breach of Air Quality Guidelines

The neighbourhood surrounding the site is already in breach of World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines. According to Ealing council's own 2024 annual status report, NO₂ levels at monitoring stations across the NW10 area ranged from 19.4 to 30.9 µg/m³ against a WHO limit of 10 µg/m³ [2]. Background PM2.5, the finest and most dangerous particulate, stands at 9.1 µg/m³ for the postcode, nearly double the WHO limit of 5 µg/m³ [3]. The Mayor of London has committed to meeting the WHO NO₂ guideline across London by 2030. At current Park Royal levels, that means reducing concentrations at the most polluted monitoring points by more than two thirds in four years. How would this be achieved with more data centres to the same area with no independent monitoring to enforce the limits?

The monitoring station on North Acton Road provides only passive monthly averages. There is no continuous, automatic monitoring in the Park Royal area to detect real-time pollution spikes during construction. Theresa Magee, head of the local housing association, said: “We’ve been asking for the details of the air quality in the area since the construction of the North Acton Road data centre began”

Noise and Dust

Residents living adjacent to the existing Vantage Data Centre on North Acton Road, less than 500 metres from the Frogmore site, describe years of continuous impact. “The dust from this data centre is unbelievable. We haven't had a break from drilling and grinding in years and it still continues. My mental health is suffering from the noise and dirt. Nobody actually checks on these workers so they do what they like” said Eibhlis Harrington. “Being surrounded by data centres puts me and my children's future in jeopardy. The excess heat, the constant humming, the decrease in green spaces. It gives me little hope. I feel powerless” said local parent Adam Anuel.

Local parent protest with “Earth on Fire, don’t add more heat” banner (photo by: Spinderella)

Overheating

Research shows that ground-level ozone forms faster in heat and particulate matter concentrations spike during heatwaves [4]. In a neighbourhood already exceeding WHO limits, the additional heat generated by a data centre cluster could associated health impacts. Another resident, Pam Hughes and is 83 years old, described measuring temperatures in her home with her own thermometer during last month's heatwave. “The news said the maximum was 37 degrees” she said. “My thermometer showed 39. I've lived here a long time. It's been hell, and it’s still hell.”

These accounts are consistent with findings reported by the Guardian in June 2026 [5]. A Separate pre-print study by Cambridge University researchers, analysing data centres worldwide, found that temperatures rose on average between 1.5°C and 2.4°C after each facility opened, with extreme cases showing increases of up to 9.1°C [6]. In Slough, home to one of Europe's largest data centre clusters, residents described temperatures in a nearby car park reaching 45°C during the 2022 heatwave while Windsor, a few miles away, recorded 39°C [5].

What Residents Want

OPDC's own Local Plan (Policy EU4) already requires development proposals to deliver or contribute to the provision of new automatic air quality monitors within the area. Residents are asking OPDC to confirm when this requirement will be enforced for the data centres. Both Ealing and Brent councils have legal duties under the Environment Act to review and assess air quality and take action. Ealing Friends of the Earth is asking both councils to:

Install continuous automatic monitoring across the Park Royal data centre cluster, including reactivating real-time monitoring on North Acton Road, covering both boroughs, with a published timeline.
Publish all monitoring data publicly and in real time.
Commit to a measurable, year-on-year air quality improvement target with annual public reporting and review.

Residents can send the air quality monitoring request to both councils at: https://tinyurl.com/2xbyhyww

References:

[1] actonw3.com, Park Royal Residents Face Being Surrounded by Data Centres, 10 December 2025: https://www.actonw3.com/info/conplan054wesleyestate.htm

[2] London Borough of Ealing Air Quality Annual Status Report 2024 (published June 2025): https://londonair.org.uk/london/reports/LBE_2025_ASR.pdf

[3] Friends of the Earth Neighbourhood Air Pollution Tool (DEFRA background concentration data), NW10: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/air-pollution

[4] National Centre for Atmospheric Science (published June 2026): https://ncas.ac.uk/what-do-heatwaves-mean-for-air-quality

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