The datacentre next door: on the frontline of tech’s latest David v Goliath battle

The AI boom is pitting local residents against corporate giants seeking to power their energy-hungry networks – but one Welsh city is fighting back Dale Johnston opens the gate to his neat suburban garden on the western fringes of Newport in South Wales.

There’s a trampoline and a slide on the lawn for his grandchildren, and chairs for him and his wife. He should be enjoying the light draining from the perfect autumnal sky – but almost his entire view is blotted out by a vast expanse of prefabricated panels. The 23 metre-high grey hulk looming over him and his neighbours is a hyperscale…