TV star Jake Humphrey has hit out at 'absurd' proposals for a huge AI data centre close to a nature reserve in his idyllic Norfolk village.
The 48-year-old, best known for hosting BBC Sport's coverage of Formula One between 2009 to 2012, has warned local communities would be left to 'pay the price' for plans to build potentially one of the UK's largest data centres in Keswick.
The two-storey, 150MW data centre would use power the equivalent of 50,000 kettles at once and include 72 cooling units on its rooftop.
Norwich Apex Data Centre is set to be built on a 32-acre site which was once famed for its dazzling summer array of poppies and is close to the renowned Marston Marshes nature reserve.
South Norfolk Council received the planning application on October 2.
Marston Marshes lies on a 64-acre site of floodplains, woodland and grass – and is home to the rare Desmoulin's whorl snail which is endangered due to habitat loss.
In a video posted to Instagram, the former CBBC presenter said: 'If our answer to our needs becomes "find a patch of countryside, put something enormous on it and we'll deal with the consequences afterwards", then sooner or later this conversation arrives in your town.
'Of course build the future, but don't ask ordinary communities to quietly pay the price for it.
'It has got to be in the right place; it has got to be the right scale and the protections should be agreed before permission is given.
'That shouldn't be controversial.'
TV star Jake Humphrey has hit out at 'absurd' proposals for a huge AI data centre close to a nature reserve in his idyllic Norfolk village
Jake Humphrey has warned local communities would be left to 'pay the price' for plans to build potentially one of the UK's largest data centres in Keswick
An aerial view of the proposed site i Keswick, near Norwich, which has been cleared ahead of the proposed development
Concerns raised by locals include continuous operational noise, loss of rural character and light pollution.
However, the land earmarked for the development already has permission for an industrial park to be built on it.
But the podcaster said the proximity to nearby Marston Marshes nature reserve meant Norwich was not the right location for the scheme.
The plans have not been designated under a nationally significant infrastructure project meaning approval of the scheme could bypass local planning authorities.
Instead the developer has applied through the district council meaning the decision lies with council chiefs rather than the government.
Mr Humphrey, who lives close to the site, said he is not opposed to data centres and doesn't believe himself to be a Nimby.
He added: 'Britain needs data centres. We need technology, we need growth. I understand this. I work in the media. I understand AI.
'I just want as many people to know what is being proposed before the decision is made. Because once developments of this scale are built, we don't get to make the decision again.'
He previously told the Daily Mail it would 'change the feeling' of his local area.
The father-of-two said: 'This landscape is precious because it is one of the last places where Norwich still arrives gently. Open fields, big Norfolk skies, old lanes, church towers, marshland, wildlife and history.
'It is rural, it is quiet, and it has an unspoilt character that has been shaped over time. That is why a data centre feels so totally out of place here.
'A huge, secure, power-hungry industrial facility does not belong beside marshes, river valleys, historic churches and rural homes. However it is dressed up in planning language, it would fundamentally change the feeling of this whole area.
'It would bring scale, noise, light, fencing, substations, generators, traffic and a sense of permanent industrialisation to south Norwich that is currently defined by openness, nature and history. And once that is gone, it is gone forever.
'You cannot tell future generations, ''We protected Norfolk'', if we allow this. This is not an argument against technology. It is an argument for putting things in the right place. A data centre may be necessary somewhere, but it is completely wrong here.
'This landscape is too rural, too historic, too sensitive and too precious to be sacrificed.'
An artist's impression of the data centre, which would use power the equivalent of 50,000 kettles at once and include 72 cooling units on its rooftop
Poppies growing in the field which is proposed to be the site of a new data centre at Keswick near Norwich
An aerial view of the site, which has not yet been submitted for planning approval
A total of 29 objections have been lodged on the planning application.
One objector said: 'Our wildlife and beautiful countryside is being wrecked.
'It was only a few years ago that this site was covered in poppies and abuzz with nature.'
Another added: 'At a time of great concern for the climate, this is a terrible plan and the application should not be granted.
'If a data centre must be built, it should be somewhere far from residential areas and in an area of least impact to wildlife.'
Ben Goldsborough, Labour MP for South Norfolk, and Daniel Elmer, Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council, have said they will fight the plans.
A spokesman for Norwich Apex Ltd said: 'The data centre will incorporate many types of noise mitigation strategies including acoustic enclosures to all chillers, use of 'free cooling' at night further reducing noise output, use of natural screening and acoustic barriers at select points of the site, which will also screen the view from nearby villages.
'The acoustic assessment submitted as part of our planning application has predicted that subject to these measures, the data centre will not exceed the existing day and nighttime background sound level at all key sound receptors.'
The consultation remains open until October 28.