I used to live in a quiet area - now a data centre overlooks my garden

Overlooking the garden of Amanda Young's family home is a data centre.

"It used to be a nice, quiet area," said Amanda, who lives near to one of the large buildings in Newport.

"But with more data centres coming in, we kind of don't know what they're going to bring with them."

Data centres are buildings full of powerful computers used to run digital services, from online banking to movie streaming.

The number of data centres across the UK is on the rise as the growth in artificial intelligence (AI) increases the need for processing power.

The UK government classifies data centres as critical national infrastructure and, according to recent Senedd research, "most jobs in the UK" are now reliant on them.

But concerns have been raised about the large amounts of resources data centres require - including electricity, grid capacity and water - as well as the impact on the local communities where they are built.

For England, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a freeze on the approval of new data centres, and said the UK government should introduce stricter environmental rules and give communities more say.

Once fully operational, the Vantage Data Center Campus , external in Newport, south Wales, will include three centres over 46 acres.

Amanda, whose home overlooks the site, said her biggest concern was "the noise, the visual impact and whether it will affect house prices" in her local area.

"When you're sitting in the lounge, you can actually see it there."

Anthony, who lives near Amanda, said the construction of the data centre "takes away the peace from the neighbourhood" because of the noise and the extra traffic.

A spokesperson for Vantage Data Center said they were "committed to being a good neighbour", adding they "work closely with local authorities" to "manage construction activity, including traffic, noise and lighting" as well as incorporating "measures designed to protect the local environment".

In Cardiff, campaigners are concerned about proposals for a data centre campus in Llanrumney, on the site of the Cardiff East Park & Ride that takes passengers to the University Hospital of Wales.

"The park-and-ride is so important," said Sue Elias, who uses the service and has been campaigning against the proposal with the residents' union Acorn.

Elias said she understood the need to build data centres but said "there should be a pause" to consider the most responsible sites.

"They shouldn't just be put up and then worry about the consequences afterwards."

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB) said the park and ride was an "essential transport link", adding that it was "committed to identifying a suitable and convenient alternative location".

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The campaigners are also concerned about the potential impact on the environment.

"The data centre planned would be an environmental nightmare both for the wildlife and the local residents," said Lizzie Bailey, who lives locally.

"This will be a temporary disruption with the construction but then a permanent disruption because of the diesel generators, the noises, the cooling fans, things like that."

Curtis Hall Ltd, the company behind the plans, said the development would "not put a strain on the energy grid or water infrastructure".

The company added: "The data centre's water and drainage requirements have been developed in consultation with Welsh Water and any connection to the public network requires their agreement.

"This ensures our data centre can be accommodated without impacting the supply of water to residents' homes."

Cardiff Council said the proposal was being considered, and that "as with all planning applications, the proposal will be assessed against relevant planning policies and material planning considerations".

The council encouraged people with "comments, concerns or views" to submit them through the consultation process.

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There are currently 568 data centres listed in the UK, according to the data centre map , external .

Research suggests that number is set to increase by almost a fifth with nine proposed in Wales.

A Senedd Research document , external recently outlined the opportunities that data centres could bring, including "jobs, investment, skills development and support for innovation".

But it also noted the "significant resource and policy questions they raise", including electricity demand, grid capacity, water use, land requirements, biodiversity and impacts on local communities.

Ofgem said the amount of electricity being requested by data centre projects seeking to connect to the grid had risen from 41GW to 125GW in the past year, reflecting a sharp increase in demand.

Water UK, the trade association for the UK's water industry, estimated , external that data centres used approximately 6.6 million litres of water each day - the equivalent used by 20,000 average homes.

By some analyses, the UK is already the third-largest nation for data centres behind the US and Germany.

Prof Alan Brown from the University of Exeter, the author of Making AI Work for Britain , said authorities should be "a lot more engaged" with communities about the construction of data centres.

"If that gets bypassed, then of course local residents are going to worry that they're getting all of the pain and none of the benefit."

He said when people understood the implications of a data centre and what it meant for them, "they're more willing to be more flexible".

"I think right now, there's a lack of communication around that."