Data centres: What are they, and why in Yorkshire?

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Earlier this year Microsoft was given the go-ahead to build a major new data centre complex at the site of a former power station in Stourton. The Skelton Grange scheme includes three data centre buildings housing computer servers, as well as a warehouse with up to 161,000 sq ft, of floorspace. What exactly is a data centre, and what has the reaction been to these plans? (Image: Getty)