Tier 4 Data Centre Will Attract Hi-End Jobs

SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has welcomed today's news of site approval for a Tier 4 data centre on the Derry-Donegal border at Bridgend, the first of its kind in these islands, which will attract the sort of companies and hi-end jobs that the Northwest needs.

Mr Durkan said: "I welcome the site approval from An Bord Pleanala for this pivotal project.

"The idea of a Tier 4 data centre is that we are able to offer not just the highly dependable connectivity that Project Kelvin offers – often called the five nines '99.999%' guarantee that the communications line will always be up – but a Tier 4 reinforces that by guaranteeing that there can be no outage in electricity terms.

"The Tier 4 data centre at Bridgend would guarantee power not just from one grid but two – so that in the event of one cancelling out, that the supply would always be there from the other.

"This offering of a high guarantee against any time-out is of huge value to a number of global players.

"The fact is there isn’t a Tier 4 data centre currently anywhere within these islands. Therefore, this will be a significant new offer for this city and region.

"People are very excited about this and see for themselves the huge opportunities that are available – not only to bring business in, but also to have a platform for growth for our own businesses here. Indeed, this could not only bring in some significant players in global business terms but also provide a huge opportunity for local companies who would be well-placed in the market for tradable services.

"It is no accident that among the people pushing very strongly for Project Kelvin were some of our small to medium sized enterprises here – people who could understand the potential for themselves and how it would transform their business in terms of location advantage.

"I have previously raised questions with the British and Irish governments about the opportunity for bespoke cross-border tax zone status being facilitated for the proposed data centre hinterlands on both sides of the border.

"This is an option which should be usefully developed in the context on any moves on corporation tax for the North."

(CD)