Regional partnership proposes Hartlepool and Darlington as UK’s next AI Growth Zones

14 January 2026

A collaborative proposal has been submitted to the UK Government to designate two sites in Hartlepool and Darlington as part of a new AI Growth Zone, aiming to position the Tees Valley area at the forefront of digital and technological development.

Backed by local MP Jonathan Brash and involving regional developer Hellens Group, a national data centre operator, and an investment firm, the bid centers on establishing cutting-edge data centre infrastructure with significant power capacity and sustainable features.

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WaveMaker predicts shift toward architecture-driven AI coding tools focused on enterprise standards in 2026

14 January 2026

Senior executives at WaveMaker foresee a significant evolution in AI-assisted software development by 2026, moving away from what some have called "vibe coding" toward tools that embed guardrails, enforce architectural standards, and align with existing enterprise frameworks.

This shift comes amid a landscape where AI coding products — such as Cursor, Lovable, Replit, and Vercel’s v0 — have experienced rapid adoption and impressive revenue growth, yet face growing concerns over code quality, maintainability, and economic sustainability.

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Ark Data Centres unveils UK’s first medium-voltage, AI-ready power infrastructure

13 January 2026

Ark Data Centres has launched a pioneering project at its Surrey campus, collaborating with ABB and JCA to deploy the UK’s first turnkey medium-voltage uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system designed explicitly for AI workloads.

Central to this initiative is a 25MVA capacity, establishing a new benchmark for high-density GPU clusters and supporting the rapid growth of AI-driven data center operations.

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n2s announces three-year partnership with NTT DATA to support Virgin Media O2’s sustainability goals

08 January 2026

n2s has announced a new three-year partnership with NTT DATA to support Virgin Media O2 across all its UK data center locations.

The collaboration will focus on responsible decommissioning, resource recovery, and integrating circular economy principles into the lifecycle management of IT assets. Under this agreement, over 40,000 IT assets will be sustainably processed, helping to reduce electronic waste, recover valuable materials, and support Virgin Media O2 in reaching its energy efficiency and carbon reduction targets.

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