At a glance
- The Northumberland Gazette first flagged the application; Data Center Dynamics reported the details.
- The site covers roughly 12 hectares on Factory Road, alongside the A189 immediately south of the River Wansbeck.
- The property was part of GSK's pharmaceutical campus from 1971 until around 2004, with buildings demolished between 2009 and 2013.
TBC Partners, a UK joint family office, has filed a screening request with Northumberland County Council for a data center campus on a former GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing site in Cambois. The Northumberland Gazette first flagged the application; Data Center Dynamics reported the details.
The site covers roughly 12 hectares on Factory Road, alongside the A189 immediately south of the River Wansbeck. TBC's website suggests the campus could total 300MW. Filing documents describe one or two main data center buildings, an on-site substation, and a construction phase of about 24 months, with occupation and operation intended from 2030 to 2035. The full application has not been submitted; TBC is asking the council to determine whether an environmental impact assessment is required.
The property was part of GSK's pharmaceutical campus from 1971 until around 2004, with buildings demolished between 2009 and 2013. Today it provides storage for aggregates, timber, and heavy machinery, plus hire and haulage services. In 2016, the council approved a waste management and transfer station there, processing up to 150,000 tonnes a year.
The plans call for a closed-loop, air-cooled conditioning plant to reduce water consumption. TBC also says it will explore ways to put the facility's waste heat to local use.
TBC has company on this stretch of coast. On adjacent land that was also part of the GSK campus, Wansbeck Regeneration Ltd filed earlier this year for three buildings totaling 356,000 sqm. About a mile north, QTS is developing a 540,000 sqm campus at the former Blyth Power Station, with up to ten buildings and 720MW at full build-out.
TBC describes itself as a joint family office traditionally focused on energy and sustainability investments. In Cambois, the family office itself is the applicant — a direct development bet. The company's website also lists a potential 300MW project in Didcot, possibly the first of more than one.
The screening opinion is an early step, but it signals intent. The 2030-2035 timeline leaves room for an EIA, a full application, and construction. If it clears planning, TBC will have moved from energy investing to energy-consuming infrastructure — and turned a former drug-making site into a data center campus.
Reported by the Data centers & fiber desk from Data Center Dynamics. Published . Corrections