Google held a community meeting at Broxbourne Borough Council offices on Wednesday to introduce staff managing its new 33‑acre datacenter north of London.

The Waltham Cross datacenter, officially opened last year, covers 33 acres and is designed for up to 77 megawatts of IT capacity, though it is not yet operating at full level.

Residents raised concerns about the level of consultation before planning permission was granted, noting that a planning application was filed in 2018 and approved on 30 November 2023.

Several attendees said they had not been given adequate notice of the public meeting and that communication about the project was limited.

Complaints also included audible hum from cooling equipment, lighting that shone into nearby homes at night, and questions about possible heat island effects and electromagnetic emissions.

Google’s server operations site manager, Dan Dale, said the lighting system would be dimmed and operated only when access is required, and that the facility uses a closed‑loop cooling system that recirculates water.

Tihomir Lazic, DCOps site manager, explained that water consumption is limited to domestic uses and fire protection, amounting to roughly 60 cubic meters per month, equivalent to the use of about five households.

Google said the datacenter’s design complies with environmental permits and that it is projected to run at or near 95 percent carbon‑free energy by 2026, supported by an agreement with Shell for grid stability.

Council representatives stated that all required planning procedures were followed and that only 12 people attended the previous public meeting on the site.

Google pledged further meetings with residents and improved communication, while the council has not yet responded to the concerns raised.