UK's Harworth Group Proposes Data Center and Housing on Former Rufford Colliery Site
January 13, 2026 A major UK property developer has unveiled plans to transform a former coal mine into a hub for digital infrastructure and residential living, highlighting a growing trend of repurposing industrial land for the data-driven economy. Harworth Group has submitted an outline planning application to the Newark and Sherwood District Council to redevelop the site of the former Rufford Colliery near Rainworth, Nottinghamshire. The proposed mixed-use development would see a significant data center facility constructed alongside a new residential community of 400 homes. According to the application, the data center project would involve a single building accompanied by a new electrical substation and a battery storage facility on the perimeter of the land. While the exact IT capacity of the proposed data center has not been disclosed, the scale of the investment is substantial. The developer estimates the construction cost at £100 million (approximately $134 million) and states it would create 250 jobs over the six-year build period. Once operational, the facility is projected to support a further 162 permanent positions. This follows Harworth's previous move in the sector, having sold 48 acres of land outside Leeds to Microsoft for £106.6 million in 2024 for a hyperscale data center campus. The Rufford Colliery site, with its first shaft sunk in 1911 and closed in 1993, has remained vacant since a plan for a waste incinerator was rejected in 2011. This new proposal represents a strategic shift towards sustainable economic regeneration. For the data center industry, which faces challenges in securing suitable, well-connected land with access to power, the conversion of large brownfield sites like former collieries offers a viable pathway for expansion. Such projects can support local economic growth by creating high-skilled jobs and injecting capital into regions undergoing post-industrial transition, while also addressing the critical need for new digital infrastructure. Source: datacenterdynamics
