We’d suggest changing the planning system, Matey

The Guardian seems to think this is very bad:

Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’. Exclusive: Rented datacentres and ‘supercomputer’ site that’s still a scaffolding yard raise questions for Starmer’s push to ‘mainline AI into veins of economy’

Really?

Nscale’s flagship project was announced in January 2025, when the government said that the company would build a supercomputer site on the outskirts of Loughton in east London, a project dubbed “the largest UK sovereign AI datacentre.” This was reported to be part of a $2.5bn investment the company was making into the UK.

That press release said that Nscale had “signed a contract” to complete this datacentre by 2026.

Nscale’s own press release from the time said that it “confirmed” its investment in the UK by buying the site in Loughton, and the supercomputer was to be “live” by Q4 2026.

But the proposed site, in an industrial park on the outskirts of Loughton, was still being used as a scaffolding yard by a London-based company when the Guardian visited in February.

Well, yes. So let us use this newfangled AI:

The £10 billion Lower Thames Crossing project, designed to link Kent and Essex with the UK's longest road tunnel, was approved in March 2025 after a 16-year, £1.2 billion+ planning process. Construction is slated for 2026–2032, with the planning phase alone costing over double the construction cost of Norway’s Laerdal Tunnel.

Planning’s very important. Very important indeed. Can’t have people jus’ buildin’ things now, can we? So, expect planning for that supercomputer site - packed with leading edge 2025 technology - to be ready in, what, 2041?

Just to remind, the reason nothing gets done in this country is because the entire system is devoted to preventing anything getting done in this country. Blow up the planning system, proper blow up - kablooie.

Tim Worstall