Impact assessment

Draft National Policy Statement for Data Centres: impact assessments

The Appraisal of Sustainability and Habitats Regulations Assessment for the draft National Policy Statement for Data Centres.

• From: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
• Published: 28 October 2026

Applies to England

Documents

Draft NPS for Data Centres: Appraisal of Sustainability

PDF, 1.52 MB, 131 pages

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Draft NPS for Data Centres: Appraisal of Sustainability – non technical summary

PDF, 495 KB, 27 pages

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Draft NPS for Data Centres: Habitats Regulations Assessment

PDF, 1010 KB, 61 pages

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Details

The draft National Policy Statement (NPS) for Data Centres is accompanied by 2 impact assessments. These are the:

• Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS) and its non technical summary
• Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)

The AoS and HRA are both statutory requirements under:

• Section 6(6) Planning Act 2008
• Regulation 100 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017

They have been developed by independent consultants and were published alongside the consultation on the draft NPS for Data Centres on 28 October 2026.