- Do you have to enter into a form of agreement with the local authority/municipality when applying for consent for a data centre in your jurisdiction?
- What is the planning/consenting designation or use class which datacentres fit into in your jurisdiction?
- Does the applicant have to own all of the land for the datacentre to apply for the consent?
- What are the steps that need to be taken to secure data centre consent in your jurisdiction? How long does each steps in the process typically take?
- Do arrangements for access to utilities, energy and/or power need to be made to as part of the consenting process?
- Are there clear land plans or zones in place which automatically authorise data centres or is the application process more complicated in your jurisdiction?
- What are the environmental considerations that need to be taken when obtaining data centre consent?
- Is biodiversity an important consideration when it comes to data centre consenting in your jurisdiction?
jurisdiction
1. Do you have to enter into a form of agreement with the local authority/municipality when applying for consent for a data centre in your jurisdiction?
No, an agreement is not necessary.
The formal application to request a building permit for a data centre usually consists of filing a formal request to the local planning authority. However, before this formal process is activated, developers usually send informal requests to the local authority to investigate the feasibility on a data centre based on local planning rules.
2. What is the planning/consenting designation or use class which datacentres fit into in your jurisdiction?
Datacentres do not expressly fall into any of the existing Swiss planning use classes.
The most common uses where data centres are allowed are industrial and commercial zones.
3. Does the applicant have to own all of the land for the datacentre to apply for the consent?
No. However, the owner of the land has to sign the application as well.
4. What are the steps that need to be taken to secure data centre consent in your jurisdiction? How long does each steps in the process typically take?
- Study of the applicable land use (technical and legal DD)
- Issuance of the building permit
- Filing of the request for the building permit
- Study on the (potential) application of an EIA procedure
All these steps together (from 1 to 4) take an average timing of 6-18 months.
5. Do arrangements for access to utilities, energy and/or power need to be made to as part of the consenting process?
The energy provider is a different authority than the one approving the planning instrument; therefore energy requests are made in parallel.
6. Are there clear land plans or zones in place which automatically authorise data centres or is the application process more complicated in your jurisdiction?
Most of the cases data centres are not included in planning rules. Therefore, the administrative process is not always straightforward.
7. What are the environmental considerations that need to be taken when obtaining data centre consent?
An environmental impact assessment ("EIA") has to be carried out for installations that may have a significant impact on the environment. The technical experts shall analyse whether the EIA procedure shall be activated. Such proceeding goes in parallel with the local urban planning approval. If the planned project is subject to the EIA obligation, the developer of the project is responsible for preparing an environmental impact report, which shows what effects the project will have on the environment and how the environmental protection legislation will be complied with.
8. Is biodiversity an important consideration when it comes to data centre consenting in your jurisdiction?
Biodiversity is something that might be included in mitigation measures required by either the local authority or the authority entitled for EIAs. Certain environmental organisations can potentially object to the building permit and therefore it can be worthwhile to keep biodiversity on the radar when planning a data centre.
