Data Center Atlas
Microsoft Skelton Grange datacentre campus, Leeds
Announced
United Kingdom · 1 project · Last reported
Summary
Planned Microsoft hyperscale datacentre campus on the former Skelton Grange power station land at Stourton, Leeds, beside the River Aire. Microsoft bought the first 27-acre plot from Harworth Group in 2024, and a second 21-acre plot is due to transfer. The application covers three data centre buildings of about 424,000 sq ft (about 500,000 sq ft with auxiliary buildings) plus power, water and energy infrastructure. Leeds planners resolved to grant consent in April 2026, subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement. Harworth estimates about GBP 4 billion of inward investment at completion; a start on site was expected within 12 to 18 months.
Source record as of 2026-04-27 · Details and sources
Harworth Group's stand-alone data-centre pipeline release of 19 August 2026 states that its first hyperscale data-centre transaction is a GBP 106m two-plot powered land sale at Skelton Grange to Microsoft with a development agreement for enabling works, and that the Skelton Grange transaction is progressing towards completion. This dated landowner disclosure shows the Microsoft data-centre development at Skelton Grange to be a live, named project on 19 August 2026. It reports no planning decision notice, no start of enabling works and no building stage, so the status stays announced. evidence
Harworth Group plc · published 2026-08-19
Location
The interactive map needs JavaScript. Display anchor: 53.77580, -1.49780 (Point locator, WGS 84).
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Approximate site reference; the exact facility position is unverified.
Projects (1)
Microsoft Skelton Grange datacentre campus, Leeds
Announced last observed as of · Project announcement
This record reports announced as of 2026-04-27. Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer; The Construction Index
Location: Stourton, Leeds, England, GB. Nominatim point on Skelton Grange Road, Stourton (LS10 1RS), next to the former power station land the sources name; the exact plot boundaries are not published in the sources. Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer
Capacity, investment and other figures
| Measure | Value | Scope | As of | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment | about 4,000,000,000 GBP | Reported · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Harworth's estimate of inward investment once the development completes; Construction Enquirer uses the figure in its headline. Microsoft has not published a figure. | Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer |
| Buildings | 3 count | Planned · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Construction Enquirer reports three buildings; Harworth and The Construction Index describe three data centre halls plus auxiliary buildings. | Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer; The Construction Index |
| Floor area | about 424,000 sq_ft | Planned · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Three data centre buildings, per Construction Enquirer. | Construction Enquirer |
| Floor area | about 500,000 sq_ft | Planned · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Harworth's figure for three data centre halls plus auxiliary buildings on Plots 1 and 2. | Harworth Group; The Construction Index |
| Land area | 27 acres | Acquired · Phase · Plot 1 | 2024-06 | Bought for GBP 51.2 million gross; Plot 2 (21 acres) adds GBP 53.2 million on completion. | Harworth Group; The Construction Index |
| Land area | 65 acres | Reported · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Site of the whole hybrid application, which also includes industrial space on land retained by Harworth outside the Microsoft plots. | Construction Enquirer |
| Jobs construction | about 740 count | Planned · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Over a build programme described as six years. | Construction Enquirer |
| Jobs permanent | more than 350 count | Planned · Campus | 2026-04-27 | Operational roles across the data centre campus and the industrial and logistics element. | Construction Enquirer |
Companies and organizations
| Name | Role | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Developer | Harworth names the applicant as Microsoft entity MSFT MCIO Limited. | Microsoft Local; Harworth Group |
| Microsoft | Owner | Owns Plot 1 (27 acres) since June 2024; purchase of Plot 2 (21 acres) was still to complete as of April 2026. | Harworth Group; The Construction Index |
| Harworth Group | Builder | Sold the land to Microsoft and is carrying out site remediation and enabling works for it; retains an adjoining 16-acre plot for industrial and logistics space. | Harworth Group; The Construction Index |
| Leeds City Council | Government | Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer |
Timeline
| Date | Event | Actual or planned | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06 | Site acquired | Actual | Plot 1 purchase completed; Plot 2 still pending in April 2026. | Harworth Group; The Construction Index |
| 2025-06-11 | Other | Actual | Microsoft held a two-day public consultation on 11-12 June 2025 while preparing its planning application (later registered as 25/06139/FU). | Microsoft Local; Harworth Group |
| 2026-04 | Zoning approved | Actual | Leeds City Council planners resolved to grant the hybrid application, delegating final approval to the Chief Planning Officer subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement. | Harworth Group; Construction Enquirer; The Construction Index |
| 2027 | Construction started | Planned | Construction Enquirer reported a start on site was likely within 12 to 18 months of the April 2026 approval. | Construction Enquirer |
No power capacity figure for the campus was found in the cited sources; Harworth's 0.8 GW figure refers to its wider powered-land portfolio, not this campus. Harworth's release footnote dates the plans panel to 23/04/2027, apparently a typo for 2026. The Construction Index page shows only day and month; the year is taken from its context alongside the same-day Harworth release.
Sources for these details
- Skelton Grange (Leeds) Datacentre Planning Application — Microsoft Local; publication date not stated · Archived source
- Harworth and Microsoft receive resolution to grant planning consent for hyperscale data centre and I&L space at Skelton Grange, Leeds — Harworth Group; 2026-04-27
- Go-ahead for Microsoft's £4bn Leeds data hub push — Construction Enquirer; 2026-04-27 · Archived source
- Data centre approved in Leeds — The Construction Index; 2026-04-27
- Companies
- Developer: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Developer: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Owner: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Owner: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Builder: Harworth Group (unknown scope) evidence
- Builder: Harworth Group (unknown scope) evidence
- Government: Leeds City Council (unknown scope) evidence
- Government: Leeds City Council (unknown scope) evidence
Source and location review
- Status source
- Harworth provides update on its data centre pipeline (Harworth Group plc, 19 August 2026) evidence row
Harworth Group plc · published 2026-08-19 · Company disclosure - Locator
- Approximate site reference · Compiled location reference · approximate_site evidence
- Source checks
Not reviewed against imagery not_
reviewed
No imagery review is recorded for this project. Its status rests only on the dated authoritative source. · no independent imagery verificationStatus age at review: 69 days before the data update on 2026-10-27
Location details
- Coordinates
- 53.77580, -1.49780
- Geometry licence
- source-terms-not-recorded
- Use scope
- Approximate site reference
- Scope class
- approximate_site
- Authority
- Compiled location reference
- Source entity
- Project
- Method
- imported_reference_point
- Derivation
- imported_reference_point
- Precision scope
- Nominatim point on Skelton Grange Road, Stourton (LS10 1RS), next to the former power station land the sources name; the exact plot boundaries are not published in the sources.
- Horizontal uncertainty
Not reported
The source record provides no measured horizontal uncertainty; original coordinate precision and note are preserved.
- Geometry evidence
- 72dad65d
A locator places the site on the map. It is not a building footprint, a construction extent or a surveyed boundary unless the use scope is an official boundary, and even then it is a parcel or permit boundary.
Evidence
Sources are linked, not redistributed; each keeps its own terms. An archived copy is a lookup for the Wayback Machine capture nearest the retrieval date and may be unavailable or differ from what was reviewed. Each hash states what it covers; imported factual records are not publisher-page captures.
| Title | Publisher | Roles | Published | Retrieved | Licence | Attribution | Content hash (SHA-256) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data centre approved in Leeds Archived copy | The Construction Index Trade publication | Imported: Record, Imported: Status, Metric: Buildings, Metric: Floor Area, Metric: Land Area, Milestone: Site Acquired, Milestone: Zoning Approved, Role: Builder, Owner claim | source-terms-not-recorded | The Construction Index | 3608975643bf47f711b56fcd244654fdb54075474cca1fd80c18834037edb154Factual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Go-ahead for Microsoft's £4bn Leeds data hub push Archived copy | Construction Enquirer Trade publication | Imported: Geometry, Imported: Record, Imported: Status, Metric: Buildings, Metric: Floor Area, Metric: Investment, Metric: Jobs Construction, Metric: Jobs Permanent, Metric: Land Area, Milestone: Construction Started, Milestone: Zoning Approved, Role: Government | source-terms-not-recorded | Construction Enquirer | 1af8d885bb576067453c6e54ff1e434f20214d370d243388ec872204f201e534Factual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Harworth and Microsoft receive resolution to grant planning consent for hyperscale data centre and I&L space at Skelton Grange, Leeds Archived copy | Harworth Group Company disclosure | Imported: Geometry, Imported: Record, Imported: Status, Metric: Buildings, Metric: Floor Area, Metric: Investment, Metric: Land Area, Milestone: Other, Milestone: Site Acquired, Milestone: Zoning Approved, Role: Builder, Role: Developer, Role: Government, Owner claim | source-terms-not-recorded | Harworth Group | 34802dda4373c449028c23f921d363f5ed9acd885859d09f1989cba8c1154babFactual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Harworth provides update on its data centre pipeline (Harworth Group plc, 19 August 2026) Archived copy | Harworth Group plc Company disclosure | Project announcement | all-rights-reserved | Harworth Group plc | 6206803848595298c0954412959a70a5e7e595c117d82357396c9c492fd4106bRetained source material; see source provenance | ||
| Skelton Grange (Leeds) Datacentre Planning Application Archived copy | Microsoft Local Company disclosure | Imported: Record, Milestone: Other, Role: Developer | not stated | source-terms-not-recorded | Microsoft Local | 166e5201f7ce21042cdb2a47d0a54d3eea2bcbe819eb557f380e360ee1ac733cFactual source record; not the publisher page |
Cite this site
Kyars, K. (2026). Microsoft Skelton Grange datacentre campus, Leeds [site vcc-site-307be41074d784035ee5]. In Data Center Atlas (2026-10-27) [Data set]. https://kiankyars.github.io/datacenter-atlas/sites/vcc-site-307be41074d784035ee5/
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