Residents living next to Google‘s £790million data centre claim it is making them ill, ruining their lives and taking thousands off their house prices.
Construction of the massive internet facility on the 33-acre site – which used to be fields – in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire began in January and left locals furious.
The project – dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Hertfordshire’ – has won praise from Rishi Sunak who hailed the move as a ‘huge vote of confidence’ for Britain, with the company vowing the centre will support the firm’s AI capabilities.
The data centre will power services such as Maps and Cloud and create jobs in the area north of London for years to come.
It is the tech giant’s first major data centre in the UK and means when you use Google search, your device will likely be firing 0s and 1s to Waltham Cross.
But locals say they are moving as a result and have complained construction noise is keeping them awake and that the project is ruining once pleasant views.
Construction of the massive data centre began in January on the 33-acre site in Waltham Cross
Google have said they plan to finish construction of the data centre by 2025
Pamela Barnett, 61, who has lived at her property within 200 yards of the site for 13 years, said the project is ‘awful’
Picture shows a housing estate next to the construction site with some houses only feet away
Dionne Brown, 44, who lives 20 yards from the site, said: ‘It used to be amazing here. That’s why I moved six years ago. It was peaceful, you could hear the birds sing and it was lovely.
‘The views were stunning and it was like being in the countryside. Now it’s appalling.
‘It makes me upset. Google can just come in and do what they want and nobody cares about us. There’s no benefits to locals, other than ruining our views and noise all hours of the day.’
The property manager said she now has to have her windows shut all day because of the ‘constant noise’, making it ‘hell’ in warm weather.
Ms Brown also said she believes her and her child may have fallen ill because of it.
She said: ‘My boy has had a really bad chesty cough for about four weeks. I am sure it has got something to do with it.
‘It seems such a coincidence.’
Another man, who has lived opposite for 70 years, said he ‘detested’ the project.
He said: ‘I cannot stand it. I cannot have my windows open. It has ruined everything.
‘If they are so committed to the environment, then why have they done this? Why not turn it into a vegetable field?
‘Then seasonal, and I mean seasonal, vegetables could be grown instead. We’re just pawns in a much bigger game at play here.
‘This is not England anymore. I was born in Britain but I do not feel this is Britain anymore. I don’t mean immigration. I mean globalisation.
Dionne Brown, 44, (pictured) who lives 20 yards from the site, said she believes it made her son ill
Local residents have complained of construction noise keeping them awake. Picture shows dump trucks and diggers at work on the site
An architect’s impression of how the data centre will look from across the New River
Picture shows the data centre being constructed from across the New River
Ms Brown said it is ‘hell’ in hot weather because she has to keep her windows closed because of the noise
‘We’re slaves for big business and big corporations. We live in a globalised world. It’s insane.’
The resident added that the project was an example of Britain losing its ‘fabric’.
He said: ‘We have been hijacked. It’s all about power. We have no power. We don’t care. I have lived here for 70 years, that does not bother them.
‘They care about profit and god knows what else. I should have been listened to.
‘Religion is dead in this country. It’s just business. And the noise is terrible.’
Roger Sullivan, 44, said he was moving out of Waltham Cross because of the data centre.
The engineer said: ‘It’s a nightmare. It’ll ruin our house prices. It was such an asset, a lovely green and pleasant land. Now it is all industry.
‘I cannot see why they would be interested in employing locals. It’ll all be US tech geeks.
‘We’ll get lost and have to put up with all of the negative aspects of it all.’
Pamela Barnett, 61, who has lived at her property within 200 yards of the site for 13 years, said the project is ‘hated locally’.
Pamela Barnett (pictured) said the project is ‘hate locally’ and suggested the community was being ‘picked on’
The Hertfordshire data centre (pictured) will be Google’s first in the UK and will create jobs in the area for years to come
Google bought the land called Maxwell’s Farm West in 2020 and plan to finish construction by 2025
Picture shows an architect’s impression of the finished data centre north of London
She said: ‘I’m from Doncaster originally, and I don’t want to sound like a moaning northerner, but it’s awful.
‘It’s dreadful. Why there? There’s other green space nowhere near residents which could have been chosen.
‘We have been picked on. I moved here for peace and quiet. Now it’s just noise, noise, noise. It won’t benefit me. It won’t benefit locals. But we do not care.’
Google acquired the land called Maxwell’s Farm West in 2020 and they plan to finish construction in 2025.
Mr Sunak said of the project: ‘Google have announced a further $ 1 billion investment to open a new data centre in Hertfordshire.
‘It’s a huge vote of confidence in the UK as the largest tech economy in Europe, bringing with it good jobs and the infrastructure needed to support British business.’
MailOnline has approached Google for comment.
