Key points
- Leeds City Council has unanimously approved Microsoft’s plans to build a 424,000 square foot data centre complex on the site of the former Skelton Grange power station in Stourton, south‑east Leeds.
- The approved scheme includes three data centre halls, plus a warehouse with up to 161,000 square feet of floor space.
- The project is at the site Microsoft bought from Haworth in the summer of 2024 for around £107 million, comprising 250,000 square feet of existing employment space and 77 acres of land through the Aire Valley Land joint venture.
- The planning consent also covers power connections, back‑up generators, and cooling chimneys, with the project team including planner Savills, architect TTSP, and engineering consultants HDR and Ramboll.
- Full planning permission has been granted for the data centre buildings, while outline permission has been given for the warehouse; conditions attached to the approval include the requirement to produce an employment and skills plan detailing jobs, apprenticeships, and work‑experience opportunities.
- After the planning panel decision, the proposal is due to be sent to Leeds City Council’s chief planning officer for final approval.
Leeds (The Leeds Times) April 28, 2026 Microsoft has received planning approval for a 424,000 square foot data centre complex at the former Skelton Grange power station in Stourton, south‑east Leeds, after Leeds City Council unanimously backed the project. The development will consist of three data centre halls housing servers, plus a warehouse with up to 161,000 square feet of floorspace, in what is being described as one of the largest industrial redevelopment schemes in the city.
What has the Leeds City Council approved?
As reported by Silicon.co.uk, Leeds City Council’s planning panel granted full planning permission for the data centre buildings and outline permission for the warehouse, giving developers “consent in principle” for that element. The approved scheme is set out under a joint‑venture structure involving Microsoft and Aire Valley Land, which holds 77 acres of land at the Skelton Grange site.
The consent conditions require Microsoft and its project team to produce an employment and skills plan that must outline how the project will create jobs, apprenticeships, and work‑experience opportunities linked to the site.
Once the panel’s decision is processed, the proposal is scheduled to move to the council’s chief planning officer for final sign‑off, after which detailed designs and phasing can be submitted within the outline‑consent framework.
Scale and layout of the Microsoft facility
The Silicon.co.uk article describes the complex as “large‑scale”, with 424,000 square feet of data centre and warehouse space spread across the former power‑station site.
The three data centre halls will house server infrastructure, while the separate warehouse component is allowed up to 161,000 square feet of floor space, which could be used for logistics, storage, or ancillary operations once the outline‑consent details are finalised.
Infrastructure elements tied to the consent include permanent power connections, back‑up generators, and cooling chimneys, reflecting the energy‑intensive nature of large‑scale data‑centre operations.
The project team is listed as Savills handling planning, architecture by TTSP, and engineering advice from HDR and Ramboll, all of which are on the record as part of the approved application.
Background: How Microsoft came to own the site
As detailed in the same report, Microsoft bought the Skelton Grange site from Haworth in a deal concluded in summer 2024, reportedly for around £107 million.
The transaction included 250,000 square feet of existing employment space plus the 77‑acre landholding through the Aire Valley Land joint venture, which was positioned as a platform for redeveloping brownfield industrial land in the area.
The former power‑station site at Skelton Grange has a long‑standing industrial history, and the Microsoft scheme marks one of the most significant recent shifts in land use at the location, from energy generation to digital infrastructure.
The council’s approval is framed within the broader context of strengthening Leeds’ role as a regional hub for technology and data‑intensive industries.
Background of the development
The Microsoft data‑centre project sits within a wider trend of hyperscale companies expanding their European infrastructure footprint via large, purpose‑built facilities.
Data centres of this size typically demand not only extensive floor area but also robust grid connections, cooling systems, and backup power, which are reflected in the conditions attached to the Skelton Grange approval.
The Aire Valley Land joint venture, which controls the 77‑acre parcel, was created to unlock under‑utilised industrial land in the Leeds area; the Microsoft deal has been publicly cited as a flagship example of how such land can be repurposed for high‑value digital infrastructure.
The project’s requirement for an employment and skills plan is consistent with recent local‑authority approaches to large‑scale industrial developments, where job creation and skills‑development commitments form part of the planning bargain.
Predictions for local and regional impact
The grant of planning permission for Microsoft’s 424,000 square foot complex could influence how future data‑centre proposals are treated in Yorkshire and across the wider North of England. Local businesses and developers may see the Skelton Grange decision as a precedent for large‑scale industrial redevelopment on brownfield sites, especially where major employers are willing to underwrite job‑creation and training commitments.
For the Leeds‑Bradford region, the project may act as a magnet for associated technology‑linked services, including engineering, maintenance, logistics, and facilities management, many of which could be steered by the employment and skills plan required under the consent conditions. Local policymakers and community groups may increasingly scrutinise the energy‑use, traffic‑impact, and environmental‑planning aspects of similar schemes, using the Skelton Grange approval as a yardstick for future debates over data‑centre expansions in the area.
