A major data centre is to be built on Worcester Six, the flagship business park, after Wychavon District Council approved plans by leading property developer Stoford.

The development of plot 6 will deliver a 51,479 sq ft unit to be undertaken on behalf of 1&1 IONOS Ltd, which is the largest European-based data hosting company.

The new site is earmarked to become a highly energy-efficient, cutting-edge data centre totalling 38,501 sq ft for IONOS and its subsidiary brand Fasthosts for UK and overseas customers. The development will also include 12,978 sq ft of ancillary offices.

Edward Peel, Development Manager at Stoford, said: “The approval for the IONOS development will bring another world-class operator to Worcester Six, which recognises the strategic location, excellent infrastructure links, and talented workforce that businesses can draw upon.

“We believe this is the first data centre to come to Wychavon and it is a clear indication of the confidence that IONOS, which is the largest cloud and hosting provider in Europe, has for the area, and for the business park.

“The excellent central location of Worcester Six, plus the availability and diverse routing of services that we have installed to the site, made this a forerunner for IONOS; we are proud to be delivering this building for them.”

Achim Weiss, IONOS CEO, said: “We are thrilled to start construction of the Worcester Six data centre soon. The demand for cloud services has been growing even more in these difficult times and with our new site we will be able to provide a variety of hosting, computing, and storage solutions to customers across the UK. We are very grateful that Wychavon District Council has approved our application so quickly.”

Councillor Richard Morris, Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for economic growth at Wychavon District Council, added: “IONOS choosing Wychavon as a base for their new data centre and offices is a tremendous vote of confidence in our local economy and will create high quality jobs in a growth industry.  I look forward to having a tour of the new centre when it opens next year.”

Councillor Ken Pollock, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure at Worcestershire County Council, added: “We look forward to working with IONOS, as a potential new occupier of the Worcester Six Business Park. This news is testament to the teams who have worked tirelessly in the most difficult of circumstances to maintain the county’s extensive progress in the business development and growth area.

“Data has become one of the world’s most valuable commodities in recent years and the pandemic has not altered this. Data centre demand continues to be driven by the rapid adoption of cloud services and the emergence of business models. This development not only solidifies Worcester Six Business Park as a first-rate business location but also provides Worcestershire with a highly valued asset, bringing substantial economic benefits for the county.”

IONOS was established in 1988 and is the largest hosting company in Europe, managing more than eight million customer contracts and hosting more than 12 million domains in its regional data centres around the globe. The IONOS group operates in fifteen countries around the world and employs 3,500 people worldwide.

In the past two years, Worcester Six has welcomed Marmon Food and Beverage Equipment, Siemens, Spire Healthcare, Kimal and Kohler Mira at Worcester Six. Once fully developed, the business park will provide 1.5 million sq ft of accommodation.

Stoford also obtained consent for a speculative unit of 37,000 sq ft in February this year, which it says can be delivered within a 10-month period.

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