Development and Zoning
Netherlands restricts new data centers after Amsterdam moratorium
Confirmed
- Date
- 2019-07-12
- Location
- Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer, North Holland, Netherlands
- Category
- Development and Zoning
On July 11, 2019, the municipal councils of Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer adopted preparatory planning decisions pausing new data-center development for one year while policy was prepared, withholding building-permit decisions and restricting changes of use. A national decree adopted December 20, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024 went further, prohibiting planning permission for new hyperscale data centers — facilities over 10 hectares of built floor area with an electrical connection of 70 MW or more — across most of the Netherlands, except designated locations in Het Hogeland and Hollands Kroon. AI connection: General data center — the measures regulate data centers by land use, scale and electricity capacity, and the cited documents do not establish an AI-specific connection.