Residents of Newarthill, Scotland: Oakes Energy's AI Data Centre Turned Out to Be a Deception

Residents of Newarthill, a village in Lanarkshire east of Glasgow, told The Guardian in July 2026 how Oakes Energy Services promised them a transformation of their lives in late 2025 through a large AI data centre complex. Instead of the promised jobs and "green" technology, they now risk losing their homes and the protected green belt.

What Oakes Energy Services promised

In late 2025, representatives of Oakes Energy Services began visiting homes in Newarthill. Residents were invited to individual meetings and told about plans to build a solar farm. According to locals, the company made concrete offers: free solar panels, tree planting, or a direct cash purchase of their property.

The project was presented as part of the UK initiative to create "AI Growth Zones", a government programme meant to attract investment in AI infrastructure across the country. Residents were told about "jobs of the future" and large-scale investment that would change life in Lanarkshire.

What went wrong?

The reality turned out to be different. According to The Guardian, the AI data centre complex in Lanarkshire has no real chance of meeting its renewable energy commitments, the key condition on which the whole "green" concept of the project was built.

Key facts:

• In late 2025, Newarthill residents were invited individually to meetings with Oakes Energy Services representatives
• The company offered solar panels, tree planting or purchases of homes
• The promised jobs and investment in the village never arrived
• The protected green belt around Newarthill is under threat of development
• The project does not meet the stated renewable energy requirements

Residents describe what happened as a "smokescreen": public promises concealed a real threat, namely pressure to sell property and build on natural land.

"It's a smokescreen," say

Newarthill residents about the actions of Oakes Energy Services.

What does this have to do with the whole of Britain?

The situation in Newarthill is not an isolated case. The British government has designated special "AI Growth Zones" across the country, where large investments in data centre construction are planned. The idea is to turn the United Kingdom into a world leader in AI infrastructure.

However, critics already call some of these projects "complete nonsense": ambitious in rhetoric, but unworkable in terms of power supply, logistics and social consent. The question of who will protect the interests of local communities in the race for AI investment remains open.

What this means

The Newarthill story is a warning for the entire wave of AI infrastructure construction: promises of jobs and "green" technology should be backed by legally binding guarantees and transparent dialogue with local communities. Without that, "AI Growth Zones" risk repeating the mistakes of past industrial waves, with environmental damage and the displacement of residents.