The UK government has tried to speed up the development of houses and commercial properties by developing new garden towns, cities and villages across the country. One such garden village is Longcross, which is located just outside Virginia Water and Chertsey in Surrey. 

Longcross Garden Village could see the development of more than 1,500 homes, as well as a brand-new business park, with the developers hoping to attract big name firms given the site’s location close to the M4 corridor. One firm that already plans on making Longcross Garden Village its home is Ark Data Centres, which has just acquired a 10 acre site where it hopes to develop a new 385,000 sqft data centre. 

Planning permission for the new Ark data centre is set to be submitted in 2020, although the firm already has big plans for the site, with it expected to be operational by 2021. 

Huw Owen of Ark Data Centres noted, “This site acquisition is one of the next steps in Ark’s ongoing expansion.

“The Longcross Park development plan dovetails perfectly with Ark’s commitment to providing customers with the very best data centres, when and where needed while aligning with Ark’s existing footprint. The Ark team continues their stellar execution against Ark’s strategic plan for both the company and its customers.”

Longcross Park will be Ark’s fourth data centre in the UK, with the firm also having sites in Wiltshire and Hampshire, while a third is under construction in London.