As the UK accelerates towards a cloud-first, AI-enabled economy, the discussion is increasingly about how critical digital infrastructure is scaled and sustained – not just where it is built. In a recent reflection, Jo Jackson highlights Slough’s emergence as one of Europe’s most significant data centre clusters and what it reveals about building national capacity and resilience.
Slough Trading Estate’s evolution from light industry to a dense cluster of digital infrastructure reflects the area’s strategic importance in connectivity, land strategy and long-term planning. Crucially, proximity to international fibre networks and established transport links helped attract global operators and foster a self-reinforcing ecosystem of investment and expertise.
This cluster’s importance spreads past local growth. Evidence shows that data centres in the area now support thousands of jobs, from construction and engineering to operations and facilities management, contributing meaningfully to the local economy.
But the reflection goes further: it suggests that treating data centres as isolated developments limits their potential. Instead, they can be anchors for broader digital and economic strategy when supported by coordinated planning, reliable power infrastructure and governance capacity – conditions Slough has uniquely fostered.
For policymakers, investors and regional leaders across the Thames Valley and beyond, Slough’s experience prompts a deeper question: how can we replicate the conditions that turn critical digital assets into connected, resilient hubs? As national policy looks to expend Availability Zones and AI Growth Zones, these lessons are timely relevant.
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