Plans to make it easier to develop AI projects at two sites in north-east England have been revealed.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said Blyth in Northumberland and Cobalt Park in North Tyneside are to be made an AI growth zone, which will “boost economic growth” and create “thousands of jobs”.
Teesworks in Redcar was not included in the announcement, despite Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen previously saying the government had given its “commitment” to award the site the same status.
Houchen’s spokesperson said proposals for the status “remain in progress”. DSIT said it was working through more than 200 proposals, including Redcar, to “identify the most promising”.
AI growth zones will be “dedicated hotbeds for AI infrastructure development”, according to the government.
DSIT said the plans at Cobalt Park involve OpenAI – the firm behind chatbot ChatGPT – US chipmaker Nvidia and British technology firm Nscale.
It said computer chips would be deployed in North Tyneside, as part of plans to deliver “new AI infrastructure” in the UK. No further details were provided.
Blyth’s designation as a growth zone is made up of a £10bn data centre, which has already been announced.
DSIT said by giving the site this status, it could “potentially” lead to an extra £20bn in investment from future partners but no details were provided as to how this may occur.
‘Full weight behind plans’
Plans for AI in Teesside have been muddied in recent months due to a row between BP and the landowners of Teesworks.
BP is seeking to build a hydrogen plant on the site, whereas the landowners want to build an AI data centre instead.
As part of correspondence published by the Planning Inspectorate, external over the row, Houchen said in a letter to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in August that he had the government’s “commitment” to make Teesside, including the site in Redcar, the “UK’s leading AI growth zone”.
It also published a letter from April from the then Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, which said the government was putting its “full weight” behind Teesworks becoming an AI growth zone.
When asked why Teesworks was not part of this latest AI announcement, a DSIT spokesperson said: “There have been more than 200 expressions of interest from across the country to host potential sites, and we’re naturally working closely with many of them, including Redcar, to identify the most promising to take forward.”