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Canolfan Ddata Menai is an outline proposal, not an approved or operating data centre. Gwelyfenai Ltd wants to build an AI and data-centre campus on the former Ferodo factory site and adjoining land at Griffiths Crossing, between Caernarfon and Y Felinheli beside the Menai Strait. The application describes 300,440 square metres of development within an approximately 41.4-hectare site.
Opposition has escalated while Gwynedd’s planning process continues. TechRadar reported more than 24,000 petition signatures on 14 October 2026 and a demonstration of about 300 people. Those figures record campaigning activity, not a planning decision.
What has been applied for?
Gwelyfenai Ltd has submitted an outline planning application to Cyngor Gwynedd. The proposal would demolish the former factory’s remaining buildings and structures, regrade the land and create a large AI and data-centre campus. The factory closed permanently in 2008 and is associated locally with asbestos contamination and the almost 1,000-day Friction Dynamics industrial dispute.
The outline application reports 300,440 square metres of campus development. The developer’s engagement material gives the wider site area as approximately 41.4 hectares, or about 414,000 square metres, including adjoining land and roughly eight hectares reserved for ecological enhancement. These are different measurements: the first describes the proposed campus, while the second describes the overall landholding.
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| Item | Figure and status |
|---|---|
| Location | Former Ferodo factory and adjoining land at Griffiths Crossing, between Caernarfon and Y Felinheli, beside the Menai Strait |
| Campus area | 300,440 square metres, as reported for the 2026 outline application |
| Overall site | Approximately 41.4 hectares, according to the developer’s engagement page accessed 15 October 2026 |
| Proposed grid connection | 450 MW, reported by TechRadar in 2026 |
| Ecological enhancement | Approximately eight hectares, described in local reporting as roughly 20 acres |
| Planning stage | Outline application and continuing public engagement; no final approval reported |
What does “57 football pitches” mean?
Opponents and political supporters use the 57-football-pitches comparison to communicate the project’s physical scale. Liz Saville Roberts MP called it a data-centre complex covering an area equivalent to 57 football pitches on the shores of the Menai Strait. The phrase is a campaign comparison rather than a separate planning measurement, and reports do not set out one standard pitch size or a precise calculation.
The figures should therefore be read together. The application’s 300,440 square metres is the reported campus development area, while 41.4 hectares is the developer’s stated wider site area. Petition totals also need a date: TechRadar recorded more than 24,000 signatures on 14 October 2026; earlier local reports mentioned more than 22,000.
Why are people objecting?
Campaigners question the scale and visual impact of buildings beside the Menai Strait, as well as construction traffic, noise and pollution. They want close scrutiny of demolition because of the former factory’s contamination history, including possible asbestos risks. Other objections concern pressure on electricity and other infrastructure, water demand, impacts on marine and terrestrial wildlife, and the loss of productive agricultural land.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThe Anglesey Sea Zoo says the site is near protected areas and species including otters, grey seals, lamprey, migratory fish and birds. Objectors also argue that the amount of permanent employment may not justify a development of this size. These are campaign, political or stakeholder concerns, not independent findings that the impacts will occur. Saville Roberts has said the landscape change requires the highest level of scrutiny and public engagement and questioned whether long-term jobs justify the project’s scale.
What does the developer say about power and water?
Gwelyfenai says the campus would connect by underground cables from the Pentir substation to the national transmission system. It says this avoids using the local distribution network and avoids new overhead pylons. The company also says the site would use some renewable electricity generated in North Wales.
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Its stated cooling design is a closed-loop system that would not abstract cooling water from the Menai Strait. According to the developer, the only proposed discharge would be uncontaminated surface water from site drainage. Standby generators, it says, would operate for outages and controlled testing rather than routine power generation. Those are design commitments presented by the applicant and would be examined through planning and technical assessments.
How many jobs could it create?
Gwelyfenai cites an independent economic-impact assessment commissioned for the project. It estimates an average of approximately 915 jobs for Welsh residents per year during a six-year construction programme and approximately 200 permanent operational jobs. The company also estimates an annual contribution of about £2.1 million to Wales’s non-domestic-rates system.
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These numbers are developer-commissioned or developer-reported estimates, not guaranteed employment or an independent planning conclusion. The outline material does not identify an operating company, tenants or a financing close, so the eventual workforce and delivery timetable remain uncertain.
What happens next?
An outline application establishes the principle and broad parameters; detailed design, construction methods, traffic arrangements, contamination controls, drainage, ecology and landscaping would require scrutiny as the process advances. The sources currently describe an application and public engagement, not a final planning approval or construction start.
North Wales was designated an AI Growth Zone by the UK Government on 13 November 2025. That policy offers planning and energy-support measures intended to accelerate AI infrastructure and investment, but it does not approve Canolfan Ddata Menai. Gwynedd’s decision-makers must still weigh the submitted evidence, consultation responses and relevant environmental and planning requirements.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where would Canolfan Ddata Menai be built?
On the former Ferodo factory site and adjoining land at Griffiths Crossing, between Caernarfon and Y Felinheli beside the Menai Strait.
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The outline application reports 300,440 square metres of campus development. The developer gives the wider site as approximately 41.4 hectares, with about eight hectares for ecological enhancement.
Why do reports call it 57 football pitches?
Opponents use that comparison to illustrate the project’s scale. It is a campaign description, not an additional planning metric, and reports do not specify a single pitch-size calculation.
How many people oppose the project?
TechRadar reported more than 24,000 petition signatures on 14 October 2026 and a demonstration of about 300 people. Earlier reports recorded more than 22,000 signatures.
Will it use Menai Strait water for cooling?
The developer says cooling would use a closed-loop system with no abstraction from the Menai Strait. It says only uncontaminated surface water from site drainage would be discharged.
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How much power is planned?
TechRadar reported a proposed 450 MW connection. Gwelyfenai says underground cables would run from the Pentir substation to the national transmission system rather than the local distribution network.
How many jobs will the Gwynedd data centre create?
The developer’s economic-impact estimate is approximately 915 Welsh-resident jobs per year during a six-year build and approximately 200 permanent operational jobs.
Has the data centre been approved?
No final approval or construction start has been reported. It remains an outline application undergoing public engagement and planning scrutiny.
The Bottom Line
Canolfan Ddata Menai is a proposed 300,440-square-metre AI campus on an approximately 41.4-hectare former industrial site. More than 24,000 petition signatures show the strength of opposition, but they do not determine the planning outcome. Environmental, infrastructure, contamination and employment questions remain to be tested against the applicant’s evidence, including its underground 450 MW connection, closed-loop cooling and promised ecological enhancement.
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