Nine-Year-Old Girl Makes Emotional Plea to Stop Huge AI Data Centre From Transforming Her Countryside Home

A nine-year-old girl has delivered an emotional message to local councillors, urging them to stand up for her community as plans for a vast artificial intelligence data centre threaten to transform the countryside where she lives.

Demelza May, who lives on a farm near Great Torrington in North Devon, spoke at a meeting of Torridge District Council, asking elected officials to reject the proposed development.

The project, put forward by developer Xlinks, would cover an 850-acre site between Great Torrington, Weare Gifford and Huntshaw. It includes plans for a 1.5-gigawatt AI data centre and a large battery energy storage facility.

Speaking to councillors, Demelza said she was worried about losing the landscape she had grown up in. She described wanting a future filled with green fields, dark skies, birdsong and the sound of trees rustling.

The young campaigner also told councillors that she hoped to become a farmer and perhaps continue her family’s businesses. She questioned whether the proposed development would genuinely benefit local residents and small businesses.

Her message was direct: councillors had a responsibility to protect local homes, the community and the countryside for future generations. Her speech received applause from those attending the meeting.

Demelza is among local residents who have taken part in protests against the proposal. Around 100 people reportedly gathered outside the council meeting as opposition to the project continued to grow.

The scale of the proposed development has become a major concern for campaigners. They fear its impact on farmland, wildlife, water resources and the character of the surrounding countryside, which lies within the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Xlinks, however, says the project could bring substantial economic benefits, including hundreds of permanent jobs. The company says only around a third of the 850-acre site would be developed, with the remaining land intended for public access, planting and wildlife habitats.

Torridge District Council has said no formal planning application has yet been submitted and that any future proposal would be considered through the normal planning process.

For Demelza and other residents, the debate is about more than a major technology project. It is about what their community and countryside will look like for generations to come.