Key Points

• Pures Data Centres Group (PDCG) and general builder Glencar have commenced pile driving operations on the West Shell of the 70MW LON01B2 data centre (B2) development at Brent Cross, North London.
• The start of piling indicates the beginning of the structural phase and signifies the final major phase of construction for a £1 billion (US$1.351 billion) development project.
• It would increase the existing capacity of the Brent Cross site by 23,000 m², thus raising the site capacity to 90MW when completed in Q2 2029.
• The B2 data centre is a closed loop and liquid-cooled data centre designed for AI inference and cloud processing loads.
• It uses low carbon building materials, recycled steel, and a living building wall that is made up of more than 750,000 plants to combat noise, air pollution, and biodiversity.

Brent Cross (North London News) September 7, 2026 – Digital infrastructure platform Pure Data Centres Group (Pure DC) and main contractor Glencar have officially commenced piling works for the West Shell of the 70 MW LON01B2 (B2) facility at the Brent Cross campus. The event signals the start of the structural phase and represents the final major construction stage of a broader £1 billion (US$1.351 billion) development. Once operational in Q2 2029, the expansion will add more than 23,000 square metres to the site, boosting total campus capacity to 90 MW to service high-density AI inference and cloud workloads.

What Are the Core Specifications of the New North London Facility?

As detailed in the official announcement by Pure DC, the LON01B2 development expands upon an existing 20 MW operational building (B1) within the live Brent Cross campus. Glencar’s scope of work involves delivering the West Cold Shell, which includes piling, deep foundations, structural steel framing, concrete slab works, stair cores, roofing, and building envelope installation, alongside seamless structural connections to the adjacent East Cold Shell.

The completed facility will feature advanced engineering solutions specifically configured to manage intensive technical processing. The infrastructure employs a closed-loop liquid cooling system, avoiding traditional evaporative cooling methods to minimise water consumption. Low-carbon building practices are being integrated across the structural phase through the incorporation of recycled steel and reduced-embodied-carbon materials.

To address localized environmental impact, the exterior design of the B2 facility features a 7,400-square-metre living wall. Comprising over 750,000 individual plants, the green façade is designed to absorb acoustic emissions, capture airborne particulate pollution near the North Circular, and foster local biodiversity adjacent to the Brent Reservoir Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

How Are Executive Leadership and Construction Teams Executing the Project?

According to statements released by the lead organizations, executing heavy structural construction within an active, highly constrained technical environment requires rigorous operational alignment.

As reported by media coverage on the official corporate announcement, Dan Priest, Campus Delivery Director at Pure DC, highlighted the progress:

“Piling commencement represents an important milestone in the continued development of our Brent Cross campus. LON01B2 is a major part of our investment in London’s digital infrastructure, and it is encouraging to see the final stage of construction now progressing on site.”

Addressing the complex logistics of building adjacent to live server infrastructure, Roy Jones, Managing Director of London and The South at Glencar, stated:

“Seeing piling get underway marks the transition into the structural phase of the programme. Delivering a project of this scale within a live and highly constrained data centre campus requires detailed planning, close collaboration and careful coordination across every stage. Our teams have worked closely with Pure DC and the wider project team to prepare for this phase, and we look forward to building on this momentum as the structure begins to take shape.”

Highlighting the strategic alignment between the two firms, Gary Wojtaszek, Executive Chairman at Pure DC, noted:

“The data centre industry faces a critical challenge: building the digital infrastructure the world needs in a way that also takes care of local communities and environment. We are delighted to be working with Glencar, whose approach to delivery and sustainability aligns with our ambitions for this project.”

Reinforcing the operational track record required for the project, Eddie McGillycuddy, Chief Executive Officer at Glencar, commented:

“This appointment reflects our growing track record in delivering complex data centre projects within live environments. The Brent Cross campus presents a technically demanding programme, requiring careful coordination across multiple phases, and we look forward to working closely with Pure DC and the wider team to deliver this next stage of the development.”

Additionally, in earlier press releases detailing the sustainability objectives of the expansion, Dame Dawn Childs, Chief Executive Officer of Pure DC, explained:

“The data centre industry is facing a critical challenge of building the digital infrastructure needed to support the demands of global data growth in a way that also takes care of the local environment. Gaining planning permission for the living wall is an exciting step in our effort to meet this challenge head-on.”

Background of the Brent Cross Data Centre Development

The LON01 campus development at Brent Cross forms a centerpiece of Pure DC’s broader UK and international expansion strategy. Phase 1 of the campus (B1) reached full operational capacity after bringing 20 MW online across four dedicated data halls. Groundworks, site excavation, and deep foundations for the second stage of the campus expansion were concluded prior to appointing Glencar to manage the final structural delivery phase.

London remains one of Europe’s largest FLAP-D (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) data centre markets, facing significant constraints regarding land availability and power allocation. The growth of artificial intelligence applications has significantly increased density requirements per rack, shifting operator demands toward liquid cooling systems and specialized structural footprints capable of supporting heavy computing workloads.

Concurrently, local planning frameworks across Greater London have tightened requirements surrounding urban carbon footprints, noise pollution, and ecological preservation. Pure DC’s integration of closed-loop cooling and the 750,000-plant vertical garden was directly aimed at satisfying planning criteria adjacent to critical ecological zones such as the Brent Reservoir.

Prediction: How Will This Development Affect the UK Digital Economy and Local Communities?

The progression of the Brent Cross LON01B2 campus carries direct implications for several key stakeholder groups across the technology, commercial, and local economic landscapes.

Impact on Enterprise Cloud and AI Service Providers

The delivery of an additional 70 MW of capacity by 2029 provides critical structural inventory for enterprise hyperscalers and AI developers operating in North Europe. High-density liquid cooling infrastructure allows cloud vendors to deploy resource-intensive machine learning models and inference processing locally, reducing latency for UK-based commercial hubs and financial institutions without encountering power-density bottlenecks typical of legacy air-cooled facilities.

Impact on the Construction and Engineering Industry

For main contractors and specialist sub-contractors, the project serves as an operational benchmark for complex brownfield engineering. Executing deep foundation piling, structural steel erection, and heavy logistics within an active campus—where Building 1 remains live and East Shell fit-outs are ongoing—will demonstrate best practices for risk mitigation, noise abatement, and multi-zone sequencing in tight urban corridors.

Impact on the Local North London Community and Environment

For residents near Brent Cross and the North Circular, the development balances industrial land use with tangible environmental mitigation. The installation of one of the world’s largest living walls is expected to act as a natural acoustic barrier, dampening operational noise while absorbing air particulates along major traffic routes. Furthermore, by utilizing closed-loop water systems rather than traditional cooling towers, the facility prevents heavy draws on municipal water supplies, safeguarding local aquatic resources surrounding the Brent Reservoir SSSI.