Data jobs hope

May 2 2008 by Sharon Liptrott, Dumfries Standard Friday

AMBITIOUS plans for a £1billion “world’s first” green-powered electronic data farm in Annandale could create 1,000 jobs.

And it is claimed 600 would be high-paid IT posts – bringing an influx of professionals to the region.

It would make the M74 corridor, between Lockerbie and Moffat, the best-connected area in the UK in internet terms.

The proposed data farm, housing server units and routers, is the vision of Internet Villages International – a consortium of people and companies, led by businessman and property developer Peter Hewkin.

A surge in interest from major world-wide companies has pushed the stakes even higher to get it up and running for 2010.

They are now set to start more detailed talks with council and enterprise officials within the next six weeks and will submit plans in August.

A public meeting for Lockerbie residents is pencilled in for the summer.

IVI originally planned to create the centre on the Peelhouses Farm site in Lockerbie but abandoned this in February after discovering the UK ethylene pipeline network, which supplies fuel between Grangemouth and Ellesmere Port runs diagonal across the site.

They were advised that the fuel pipe could be a target for anti-capital terrorists and compromise the security of Lockerbie and that of the companies who stored their data on site. Now they are concentrating on another 300-acre agricultural site closer to Moffat.

Mr Hewkin said: “It has been a major blow but we have worked hard to find another site within this 20-mile zone near Lockerbie, which is absolutely perfect for a data farm.

“This zone meets all our needs in having the availability of local green electricity from E.ON’s Steven’s Croft biomass power station and the windfarms, and access to super-fast internet connectivity. The new site is perfect for our needs.”

Talks have already been underway with the region’s economic development bodies.

David Byers, Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway’s business infrastructure team manager said: “We agree with the whole concept of the data farm. There is massive opportunity within the IT industry for Scotland to land this kind of investment. The basic infrastructure conditions needed for this are spot on in the M74 corridor.”

Originally the consortium said the investment would be £600million and would create 500 jobs. However, Mr Hewkin says world-wide interested has forced them to review their figures.

He said: “Several Fortune 500 companies and public sector organisations expressed an interest at first but now we have huge international companies on board. There is so much demand. We are talking about the largest world IT corporations; major household names.

“Major companies have their data stored in small centres dotted around but the farm would be on a large scale with everyone together on one site, although in their own building.

“This would be a world first and would bring world industries to Lockerbie.

“Once the data farm is up and running it will represent a £1billion investment. The construction side will create 400 jobs and then 600 IT jobs.”

Twenty single-storey data centre are planned on 200-acres. The remaining 100 acres are being earmarked for an eco-village with 700 homes.

Mr Hewkin said: “We are concentrating on the data farm initially and will submit plans for the village in a few year’s time.

“We have lost 16 weeks now because of the problem at Peelhouses but are still hoping to be up and running by early 2010.”