Jun 02, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
UK data center developer Era4 is moving forward with plans to establish a facility at a landfill site in Canterbury. The company, formerly known as Carbon3.ai, has submitted an application to Kent County Council for the development of a data center at the Shelford Farm Estate on Broad Oak Road. Planning documents show that the proposed Shelford Data Centre, initially filed in November, would span approximately 13,000 square feet (1,210 square meters).
The proposed data center would be developed on a vacant section of a landfill and waste processing facility operated by Valencia Waste Management, on land formerly used for composting activities. Plans call for the facility to be linked via a private-wire connection to the Valencia Energy Centre, which generates electricity using methane captured from the landfill. The project would also incorporate rooftop solar panels and employ a closed-loop liquid cooling system enhanced by adiabatic cooling technology. As of publication, a Change.org petition opposing the development had attracted 119 signatures.
Founded as Carbon3.ai in 2024 and rebranded as Era4 earlier this year, the company has outlined plans to deploy 100,000 GPUs across a network of more than 30 sites. Era4 is pursuing data center developments in Derbyshire and Newport, although a proposed project in Anglesey was previously turned down by planners. The company maintains close ties with Valencia, with the two organizations sharing members of their executive teams. Valencia Energy is a subsidiary of the Valencia Waste Group, one of the UK's largest landfill operators, managing seven active landfill sites alongside more than a dozen closed locations.
