Starmer hails £10bn Northumberland scheme as sign of UK's potential

Plans for a series of data centres on the former 'Britishvolt' site could create hundreds of jobs

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has hailed a £10bn investment that will create hundreds of jobs in Northumberland as a “huge vote of confidence in the UK”.

The deal with US investment firm Blackstone to create a massive campus of data centres at Cambois, near Blyth, aims to boost the UK’s digital and AI sectors, with hopes that the centres will attract more hi-tech firms to the area.

Northumberland County Council first announced the deal in April, revealing that it had secured a £110m investment fund as part of the sale of the land that will be used for job creation schemes in the country. The site had previously been earmarked for the Britishvolt battery gigafactory, though those plans came to nothing when the company went into administration.

The Government signalled shortly after winning the election that creating more data centres were a priority as part of its growth agenda, introducing regulations to classify them as critical national infrastructure. Blackstone - which will be running the site at Cambois through its data centre subsidiary QTS - said the development could create up to 4,000 jobs, including 1,200 in the construction phase that is set to begin next year.

Sir Keir is meeting a series of US business chiefs including Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, while in New York for the UN General Assembly.

He said: “The number one mission of my Government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits – and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan. New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business.”

Mr Gray said: “The UK is a top investment market for Blackstone because of its powerful combination of talent and innovation along with a highly transparent legal system. We are making significant commitments to building social housing, facilitating the energy transition, growing life sciences companies and developing critical infrastructure needed to fuel the digital economy. This includes a projected £10bn investment to build one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data centres supporting 4,000 jobs. Blackstone is committed to Britain.”

Though the multibillion-pound scheme was first announced before July’s General Election, Sir Keir has welcomed the investment ahead of the UK’s International Investment Summit in October, which is set to bring together hundreds of leading CEOs and investors with a programme to showcase the UK’s economic strengths.

When the scheme was initially announced, Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said it would “put our county at the forefront of developments in the digital economy.”