We have called for the tech giant Google to find a new site for a proposed data centre campus in South Essex. The call comes as plans for a sprawling development on a special Local Wildlife Site have come forward – putting the future of its nationally important invertebrate populations at risk. We have launched a petition which has fast achieved over 2,000 supporters.
The Arena Essex Raceway in Thurrock, separated from the bustling Lakeside Retail Park by the traffic-filled A13, might not be most people’s idea of a wildlife haven. But where once stock cars and speedway bikes lined up to cross the finish line first, the dust has settled and nature is thriving. It is now home to a unique mosaic of flowery grasslands, sandy bare ground, scrub and young woodland that have thrived on its brownfield landscape – earning it Local Wildlife Site status.
This hidden secret in Thurrock has no public rights of way, but much of it has been used over the years for fishing and informal walking and cycling. It has also been found by wildlife in an increasingly developed landscape. Its 52ha are home to hundreds of species of invertebrate, including Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis), Five-banded Weevil-wasp (Cerceris quinquefasciata) and Dingy Skipper butterfly (Erynnis tages)- with many more to be found- as well as rare plants such as Endangered Broad-leaved Cudweed (Filago pyramidata) and birds such as Red Listed Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).
The chequered flag was waved on the Raceway in 2018, but now its future as a wildlife haven is at risk from the proposed data centre campus. The Google-associated ‘Global Infrastructure UK Limited’ plans would lead to over 80% of its precious ‘Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land’ habitat being lost. Meanwhile, Google boldly touts claims in its 2025 Sustainability Report of “Cultivating nature on our campuses” and “rebuilding nature in the very places it’s been paved over”.
Jamie Robins, Buglife Programmes Manager, says, “Arena Essex is a really unique place for nature in Thurrock. This is simply the wrong place for Google to think of building a data centre- to live up to its sustainability ambitions, it shouldn’t even consider bulldozing a Local Wildlife Site. Against the background of a nature emergency, with our insects in steep decline, we have to protect our best remaining habitats- and for powerful companies to make better decisions.”
The loss of the Arena Essex site would be another devastating blow for Thurrock’s wildlife, which has seen the loss of multiple Local Wildlife Sites to development in recent years, with further threats on the horizon from the Tilbury 3 proposals to expand the Port of Tilbury and the now approved Lower Thames Crossing which cuts across the borough. We launched our ‘Save Arena Essex- Tell Google to search elsewhere!’ petition this week, with over 2,000 supporters signing in under two days.