A major data centre will be built on the former Honey Monster factory site in Southall after Ealing Council’s planning committee approved the plans on Wednesday (15 July 2026).
The decision by the council’s planning committee gives CyrusOne permission to redevelop the vacant 6.8-hectare Bridge Road site with a hyperscale data centre, an workspace building, a training centre, landscaping and new public spaces.
As part of the approval, Ealing Council will receive almost £17.8 million in planning contributions to be spent on transport improvements, carbon reduction projects, air quality measures and employment and skills programmes.
The development will also see CyrusOne providing 25 apprenticeships, 25 work placements, affordable workspace and a dedicated training centre for local residents. The project is also expected to create more than 1,100 construction jobs before supporting around 650 permanent jobs once operational.
The site was home to the Honey Monster food factory from 1937 until production ended in 2016. The factory buildings were demolished in 2022 and the land has remained vacant ever since.
Councillors approved the plans after Ealing Council planning officers concluded the development’s “substantial economic, infrastructure, employment, public realm and sustainability benefits” outweighed its limited adverse impacts. Officers also said the site was well suited to a data centre because of its existing power and digital infrastructure.
The approval follows a series of previous proposals for the site.
Planning permission was granted for a mixed-use residential development in 2020, while councillors also backed an employment-led logistics scheme in 2023. However, the legal agreement for the logistics development was never completed, meaning that permission was never issued.
CyrusOne said the approval marked “an important milestone” and it would be working with Ealing Council and the local community as the development progresses.
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